Risk analysis studies on Africa conducted by a number of international organisations have addressed a number of complex and interlocking socioeconomic and political issues, largely painting a bleak picture of the continent. These reports have been used by the Western countries as benchmarks for the flow of donor funds, often with disastrous consequences. The failure of the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) introduced by the Bretton Woods institutions in the 1970s and 1980s serve as a good example. Taking cognisance of these interpretations, the case studies in this volume have employed appropriate methodological, conceptual and theoretical approaches with the objective of reaching balanced assessments on the underlying principles of risk and threat in Africa. The authors take a more holistic view, clearly defining the concept of risk and its corollaries and going beyond the somewhat limited view of those organisations which apply largely Eurocentric values to their assessments.

This paper discusses the impact of the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in the financial sector. It highlights the benefits these technologies bring in terms of financial deepening and efficiency, while raising concerns about its potential in widening the digital divide between advanced and developing economies. The paper advances the discussion on the impact of this technology by distilling and categorizing the unique risks that it could pose to the integrity and stability of the financial system, policy challenges, and potential regulatory approaches. The evolving nature of this technology and its application in finance means that the full extent of its strengths and weaknesses is yet to be fully understood. Given the risk of unexpected pitfalls, countries will need to strengthen prudential oversight.

This book examines the legal and security threat posed by pandemics in Africa and beyond. The authors propose that to effectively counter pandemics, it is necessary for states to transcend beyond a realism approach and to adopt security policies that reflect the multidimensional nature of state authority and functions.

This book explores multiple challenges faced by democratization in Southern Africa. Applying a wider lens to the concept of political transition and employing a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, the contributions gathered here explore residual political cultural practices that hinder democratic consolidation in Southern Africa. Presenting various case studies, the book tackles themes such as the military-political nexus, leadership renewal, constitutionalism, electoral politics, election violence, marginalization of women, civil society and political transition, media framing and transitional justice. Written from a multidisciplinary perspective and drawing on empirical data from multiple sources, this edited volume challenges orthodox conceptualizations of political transition. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, African studies, and related fields, as well as policy-makers and professionals interested in the latest political developments in Southern Africa.

Hollywood’s Africa after 1994 investigates Hollywood’s colonial film legacy in the postapartheid era, and contemplates what has changed in the West’s representations of Africa. How do we read twenty-first-century projections of human rights issues—child soldiers, genocide, the exploitation of the poor by multinational corporations, dictatorial rule, truth and reconciliation—within the contexts of celebrity humanitarianism, “new” military humanitarianism, and Western support for regime change in Africa and beyond? A number of films after 1994, such as Black Hawk Down, Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamond, The Last King of Scotland, The Constant Gardener, Shake Hands with the Devil, Tears of the Sun, and District 9, construct explicit and implicit arguments about the effects of Western intervention in Africa. Do the emphases on human rights in the films offer a poignant expression of our shared humanity? Do they echo the colonial tropes of former “civilizing missions?” Or do human rights violations operate as yet another mine of sensational images for Hollywood’s spectacular storytelling? The volume provides analyses by academics and activists in the fields of African studies, English, film and media studies, international relations, and sociology across continents. This thoughtful and highly engaging book is a valuable resource for those who seek new and varied approaches to films about Africa. Contributors Harry Garuba and Natasha Himmelman Margaret R. Higonnet, with Ethel R. Higgonet Joyce B. Ashuntantang Kenneth W. Harrow Christopher Odhiambo Ricardo Guthrie Clifford T. Manlove Earl Conteh-Morgan Bennetta Jules-Rosette, J. R. Osborn, and Lea Marie Ruiz-Ade Christopher Garland Kimberly Nichele Brown Jane Bryce Iyunolu Osagie Dayna Oscherwitz

The post-independence integration endeavor of the East African Community has been punctuated with challenges, culminating into the collapse of the 1967-1977 regional organization. The renaissance of the integration agenda since the re-establishment of the regional organization in 1999 has rekindled epistemological debate among scholars and practitioners on the East African Community raison d'etre and integration process. This volume is the first of its kind in this ongoing debate that puts into proper context the nexus between the East African citizens and the integration agenda. Focusing on the Partner States case studies, the authors of the chapters operationalize the concepts of popular participation, eastafricanness, eastafricanization, democratization, and integration. Using political, national constitutions and EAC treaty, communication and awareness dimensions the authors of the chapters have analyzed the nexus between the EACcitizens and the integration process. The study generally proceeds from the premise that the exclusion of the EAC citizens from exercising their sovereign rights through popular participation undermines the prospects for the institutionalization and consolidation of the EAC identity, eastafricanness, eastafricanization, democratization and integration.

This book presents the case that liberal constitutionalism in the global South is a legacy of colonialism and is inappropriate as a means of securing effective peace in regions that have been subject to recurrent conflict. The work demonstrates the failure of liberal constitutionalism in guaranteeing peace in the postcolonial global South. It develops an alternative, more compelling constitutionalism for peacebuilding in conflicted regions. This is based on constitutionalism that recognises plurality as a major feature in the global South. Drawing on events in Nigeria, it develops a constitutional model, based on Cognitive Justice, which could deliver peace by addressing historic, conceptual, legal, institutional and structural issues that have created social inequality and injustice. The study also incorporates insights from the development of plurinational constitutions in South America. The book will be an invaluable resource for researchers, academics and policy-makers with an interest in constitutional legal theory, peacebuilding and postcolonial studies