TRANSBOUNDARY WATER COOPERATION IN AFRICA: THE CASE OF THE NILE BASIN INITIATIVE (NBI)

The aim of this paper is to identify the economic, social and political benefits of the transboundary cooperation by using the Nile Bain Initiative (NBI) as a case study. It also attempts to identify the obstacles that hinder transboundary cooperation in the Nile Basin. The paper argues that the riparian states in the Nile Basin should work for “benefit-sharing” rather than “water-sharing” and this should be the basis for the transboundary cooperation. It also claims that implementing the concept of benefit-sharing would help in solving problems that are caused by divergent interests among the riparian states in the Nile basin and the up stream-down stream problems frequently manifested in the area. The paper concludes by suggesting the main points that have to be considered in transboundary cooperation.“benefit-sharing”, Nile Basin Initiative, transboundary cooperation, “water-sharing.”

Democracy and Elections in Africa: Critical Analysis

The aim of this article is to assess the democratization process in Africa in general and the multi-party elections in particular. The decolonization process in Africa (1960s and 1970s), which was known as the “first liberation” completed by the emergence of many, new independent African countries. In most of the newly liberated countries the political parties that led the anti-colonial struggle established one-party domination after independence. The rapid democratization process (“second liberation”) in Africa began in the first half of the 1990s, particularly with Benin’s multiparty election in 1991. In this period, multi-party elections had taken place in most of African countries. These transitions led to “limited” democracies, characterized by a lack of liberal freedoms, low levels of popular involvement (except at election times), narrow range of civil liberties and the concentration of political power in the hands of small elite groups. Holding an election is a milestone, but it is not the key to Africa’s democratic legitimacy. Many elections in the African region have failed to meet the internationally accepted standards for free and fair elections. Though Africa’s record on free and fair elections is mixed, at present, most of Africans have embraced elections as indispensable mechanism for determining their future course

Media and multi-party elections in Africa: The case of Ethiopia

In any democratic country the media serves as a watch dog of events and decisions and assists citizens to be informed about what is going on in the country. Free media also plays a very important role to conduct democratic elections. The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of the media in the African democratization process particularly in the multi-party elections that widely emerged in the continent in the 1990s. The paper investigates the contributions of the media in the emerging African democracies by using the performance of the media in the 2005 multi-party parliamentary election in Ethiopia as a case study. The paper also attempts to assess the Ethiopian press laws of 1992 and 2008, which are the only press laws in the history of the country.In any democratic country the media serves as a watch dog of events and decisions and assists citizens to be informed about what is going on in the country. Free media also plays a very important role to conduct democratic elections. The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of the media in the African democratization process particularly in the multi-party elections that widely emerged in the continent in the 1990s. The paper investigates the contributions of the media in the emerging African democracies by using the performance of the media in the 2005 multi-party parliamentary election in Ethiopia as a case study. The paper also attempts to assess the Ethiopian press laws of 1992 and 2008, which are the only press laws in the history of the country

Democracy promotion and Western aid to Africa: Lessons from Ethiopia (1991-2012)

Since the end of the Cold War, Western donors have been following a strategy of democracy promotion to Africa that involves giving assistance to both the state and the non-state actors including governments (as part of good governance program), parliaments, courts, political parties, civil society, electoral management bodies, election observation missions etc. The paper explores both the positive and the negative impacts of such assistance to African emerging democracies by using Ethiopia as a case study. The paper primarily deals with three sub-sectors of democracy promotion program: assistances to political parties, international election observation missions, and civil society. In this study, I argue that human rights and self interest (economic, political or both) shape the foreign aid policy of Western donors including democracy assistance. Moreover, the paper attempts to prove that democratic reversals or backsliding and human rights abuses in the recipient states can trigger aid reduction or termination only when the recipient states are neither economically nor strategically valuable to the Western donors

The anti-terror war in Somalia: Somali women's multifaceted role in armed conflict

'Es ist Ziel dieses Aufsatzes, den von den USA angeführten Antiterrorkrieg in Somalia zu diskutieren und seine Auswirkungen auf die Stellung und Rolle von Frauen in Somalia zu untersuchen. Mit den Anschlägen der al-Qaeda auf die Botschaften der USA in Nairobi (Kenia) und Dar es Salam (Tanzania) im August 1998 entwickelte sich islamischer Fundamentalismus und Terrorismus zu einer bedeutenden Bedrohung für die Region. Als Antwort darauf initiierten die USA in Ostafrika, insbesondere in Somalia, einen Antiterrorkrieg. Sowohl in diesem als auch im somalischen Bürgerkrieg ist die Beteiligung von Frauen bedeutsam. Bislang existiert keine umfassende Studie über die Rolle von Frauen in bewaffneten Konflikten und deren Auswirkungen auf Frauen in Somalia, einem Land, das bereits von Hungersnot, politischer Instabilität, ethnischem Krieg und geschlechterspezifischer Gewalt geprägt war. Bewaffnete Konflikte bringen neue Möglichkeiten und Zuständigkeiten im privaten wie auch im öffentlichen Bereich, durch die die sozialen Beziehungen zwischen Männern und Frauen neu definiert werden. Nach Ende des Konfliktes bestehen diese Veränderungen jedoch nicht immer fort und patriarchal dominierte Geschlechterrollen treten in vielen Gesellschaften wieder in den Vordergrund. Am Fallbeispiel Somalia geht dieser Artikel der Frage nach, warum Geschlechterrollen, die bereits vor dem Krieg existierten, nach Konflikten wieder auftauchen.' (Autorenreferat)'The aim of this article is to explore the U.S.-led anti-terror war in Somalia and evaluate its impact on the status and role of Somali women. With the al-Qaeda attacks on U.S. embassies in Nairobi (Kenya) and Dar es Salam (Tanzania) in August 1998, Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism became a major threat to the region. In response to this threat, the United States initiated an anti-terror war in East Africa, in particular in Somalia. In both the anti-terror war and the Somali civil war, Somali women's participation has been significant. So far, however, no serious research has been conducted into women's role in these conflicts or into the impacts of these conflicts on women in Somalia, a country already plagued by famine, political instability, ethnic war, and gender-based violence. Armed conflicts offer new opportunities and responsibilities in both domestic and public spheres that assist in redefining social relations between women and men. After conflicts, however, the changes in gender roles often do not persist and pre-war patriarchal gender roles re-appear in many societies. By investigating the case of Somalia, this paper examines the reasons behind the re-emergence of pre-war gender roles after conflicts.' (author's abstract

Federalism in Africa: The Case of Ethnic-based Federalism in Ethiopia

Ethiopia adopted ethnic federalism and restructured the regions along ethnic lines as soon as the EPRDF took political power by overthrowing the Marxist military government in 1991. The aim of this paper is to examine the merits and the demerits of federalism. The paper particularly assesses federalism in Africa by taking the case of Ethiopia as an example. The paper argues that in order to ensure the success of federalism, it should not be imposed from above. Since its introduction in 1991 and officially sanctioned in the country’s 1994 Constitution, ethnic federalism and Article 39 of the Constitution that awarded the self-rule states (regions) the right to secede has become the major source of intense debate. For some, ethnic federalism and the right to secede discourage ethnic tensions in the country and encourage the various ethnic groups to live together peacefully. However, for others, this “experiment” can go out of hand and may lead the country into never-ending ethnic wars and eventually to disintegration. This paper, by taking into account of Ethiopia’s and other countries’ experiences, will examine both sides of the arguments

Concept of Health, Disease, Illness and Therapy Among the People of Addis Ababa

Background: In developing countries the situation in health care has become so complex that medical or biological terms alone cannot effectively assess it. After the Second World War particularly concomitant with the development of international public health programs the need to get information on the cultural and social factors that affect health paved a way for the contribution of anthropologists. This increased acceptance of cultural influence on health has led to the frequent use and elaboration of terms like illness, sickness and disease. The aim of this paper is to investigate how the people of Addis Ababa consider health, disease and illness. It also examines the conceptual differences of disease, illness, and health. Method: The data were collected in Addis Ababa from June 1998 to January 1999 by employing the fundamental techniques of anthropological investigation: participant observation and interviews. In this research healers, patients, elders, and cosmopolitan medicine workers were interviewed and observed. Result: The people believe that health is the equilibrium between organs in a body, and the equilibrium between the body as a whole and the outside environment. Furthermore, it is found out that the people could not differentiate disease from that of an illness. Conclusion: Despite the increasing supply of modern manufactured drugs traditional medicines have continued to be widely used in Ethiopia. The availability of medicines and their plants abundantly in the markets of towns show how traditional medicine is popular among the urban residents

Indigenous Healers of Ethiopia: Victims of a Healing Profession

The aim of this article is to identify the negative stereotypes against healers in Ethiopia, which hindered cooperation between practitioners of traditional medicine and those of cosmopolitan medicine. The article also analyses the reasons why these stereotypes led to the condemnation and persecution of healers in the past and in the present. The article suggests possible ways of clearing the misunderstandings between the practitioners of both medical systems (indigenous and cosmopolitan). The primary data were collected by using anthropological techniques of data collection, observation and interview. It was observed that these age-old stereotypes have economic, social, psychological and legal impacts on healers. (The African Anthropologist: 2002 9 (2): 102-116