A report on the last years' events in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which have transformed the country into an arena of international and internal violence and conflict involving so many participants that it can be described as the first African continental war. The study also contains a historical background to the recent events in the Democratic Republic ...

Not long ago, Mali was considered a beacon of stability and a model of democratic evolution in West Africa. The country then experienced a military coup in the capital in March 2012, followed by the usual post-coup volatility and uncertainty. In the immediate aftermath of the coup, armed insurgents swiftly took over half the country. It did not take long to dismant...

CONTENTS: Authors Biographies, 5 -- Preface and Acknowledgements, 11 -- Chapter 1 – Prologue: Why Does Africa Need Innovative Water Financing Mechanisms? Atakilte Beyene and Cush Ngonzo Luwesi, 17 -- Chapter 2: Africa’s Water Sector Development and Financing Outlook Wangai Ndirangu, Cush Ngonzo Luwesi, Atakilte Beyene and Mamudu Abunga Akudugu, 42 -- Chapter 3: The...

In 2050, the population in all the Nile Basin countries is expected to be ten times higher than it was in 1950. This will put ever increasing pressure on water as a resource for development. The Nile Basin catchment area is shared by 11 countries covering about one-tenth of the African continent. Globally, around 70 per cent of fresh water consumption is used in ag...

What does it mean to be human in the aftermath of mass trauma and violence? When victims and perpetrators of gross human rights violations live in the same country, and sometimes as neighbours, what strategies can help individuals and communities deal with trauma in a way that restores dignity to victims and enables perpetrators to be accountable for their crimes? ...

The development of industrial capitalism in Europe gave rise to conditions that motivated the rise of modern urban planning. In Africa, urban models for ordering society emerged in the late 1930s. Andrew Byerley looks at the laboratory of urban Africa.

Over the last few years, there has been both talk about and action regarding the long-term neglect of agriculture in development. An agricultural revival has occurred, with African governments committing themselves to spending at least 10 per cent of their budgets on agriculture. Donors such as the World Bank and many bilateral organizations are refocusing on the s...

In the numerous armed conflicts that are tearing the African continent apart, young women are participants and carry guns alongside their male comrades-in-arms. Challenging the stereotype of women in African wars as victims only, this issue of the Nordic Africa Institute Policy Dialogues shows how in modern African wars women have often been as active as men. Femal...

Young women are combatants in contemporary African wars. They also participate in a whole array of different roles. However, by and large, they remain invisible to us. In fact, our “northern” hackneyed views on women’s innate non-participation in war prevent us from seeing specific needs for young women during and in the aftermath of wars. For instance, disarmament...