After the Cold War, Africa earned the dubious distinction of being the world's most bloody continent. But how can we explain this proliferation of armed conflicts? What caused them and what were their main characteristics? And what did the world's governments do to stop them? In this fully revised and updated second edition of his popular text, Paul Williams offers an in-depth and wide-ranging assessment of more than six hundred armed conflicts which took place in Africa from 1990 to the present day - from the continental catastrophe in the Great Lakes region to the sprawling conflicts across the Sahel and the web of wars in the Horn of Africa. Taking a broad comparative approach to examine the political contexts in which these wars occurred, he explores the major patterns of organized violence, the key ingredients that provoked them and the major international responses undertaken to deliver lasting peace. Part I, Contexts provides an overview of the most important attempts to measure the number, scale and location of Africa's armed conflicts and provides a conceptual and political sketch of the terrain of struggle upon which these wars were waged. Part II, Ingredients analyses the role of five widely debated features of Africa's wars: the dynamics of neopatrimonial systems of governance; the construction and manipulation of ethnic identities; questions of sovereignty and self-determination; as well as the impact of natural resources and religion. Part III, Responses, discusses four major international reactions to Africa's wars: attempts to build a new institutional architecture to help promote peace and security on the continent; this architecture's two main policy instruments, peacemaking initiatives and peace operations; and efforts to develop the continent. War and Conflict in Africa will be essential reading for all students of international peace and security studies as well as Africa's international relations.

Countries at the Crossroads: An Analysis of Democratic Governance evaluates government performance in seventy strategically important countries from across the globe, including emerging market countries and at-risk states. The in-depth comparative analyses and quantitative ratings_examining Accountability and Public Voice, Civil Liberties, Rule of Law, and Anticorruption and Transparency_serve as a valuable tool for public analysts, educators and students, government officials, and the business community.

This book considers the interactions between Africa, Asia and Europe, analysing the short and long term strategies various states have adopted to external relations. The urgency attached to the agenda of international terrorism and human and drugs- trafficking has forced the European Union into new cooperation with Africa and Asia. These inter-regional relations have taken on new dimensions in the context of contemporary international politics framed by new security challenges, and new competitive forces particularly from Asia. This book provides both conceptual and empirical arguments to offer an innovative perspective on the EU as a global actor. It demonstrates how these three regions interact politically and economically to address global challenges as well as global opportunities, and thus provides an assessment of the multilateralism which the EU clearly stated in its Security Strategy paper. Addressing a broad range of topical issues, the book features chapters on European Security; European Migration Policy; African Union and its peace and security policy; Terrorism and international security; China and its fast growing global role; India, the biggest democracy in the world; and the impact of the Asian economic growth on the global economy. Further it compares the different backgrounds, forms and priorities of regional integrations. A Global Security Triangle will be of interest to all scholars of European politics, security studies, African and Asian studies, and International Relations.

Particularly in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack, the threat of terrorism, however, defined, has been invoked as a common ‘justification’ in the pursuit of remodelling policies, laws, and institutions, both at the international and in the domestic politico-legal showground. The broader central theme that this book explores is the normative vibe under which the present-day counterterrorism discourse is construed and sculpted in the legislative and institutional structures of an authoritarian state where the political power and government institutions are functioning under a single-party-monopolised system. Presenting the Ethiopian legislative and institutional frameworks as a case study, the book critically reflects on the extent that the international legal and/or institutional counterterrorism response is sensitised in a manner lessening the risk of conflating authoritarian regime’s unbearable reactions to citizens’ legitimate demands and resistances against its repression vis-àvis that of its response to the common threat of international terrorism. In particular, the book ponders whether or not the range of the substantive and procedural aspects of the Ethiopian antiterrorism legislative and institutional frameworks are wrought to fit into the main objectives and standards that emanate from the pertinent international laws relating to terrorism and the international human rights law as well as the domestic constitutional law maxims.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this analysis of media law in Ethiopia surveys the massively altered and enlarged legal landscape traditionally encompassed in laws pertaining to freedom of expression and regulation of communications. Everywhere, a shift from mass media to mass self-communication has put enormous pressure on traditional law models. An introduction describing the main actors and salient aspects of media markets is followed by in-depth analyses of print media, radio and television broadcasting, the Internet, commercial communications, political advertising, concentration in media markets, and media regulation. Among the topics that arise for discussion are privacy, cultural policy, protection of minors, competition policy, access to digital gateways, protection of journalists’ sources, standardization and interoperability, and liability of intermediaries. Relevant case law is considered throughout, as are various ethical codes. A clear, comprehensive overview of media legislation, case law, and doctrine, presented from the practitioner’s point of view, this book is a valuable time-saving resource for all concerned with media and communication freedom. Lawyers representing parties with interests in Ethiopia will welcome this very useful guide, and academics and researchers will appreciate its value in the study of comparative media law.

In a wide-ranging presentation derived from teaching experiences and research projects, seasoned professors, Wassie Kebede and Alice Buttereld, examine engaged research that links social work, human services, and social development with the intent of instigating action for social change.Drs. Kebede and Buttereld begin by introducing others to an overview of engaged research and models of social change, and then examine development issues in Ethiopia in view of engaged research. After offering their context of engaged research as a prototype for extrapolating development policies that can be studied, compared, and contrasted with those in other countries, Kebede and Buttereld present the results from the engaged research of former PhD students, now faculty at various universities in Ethiopia. The book provides a glimpse into the professors' own experiences and an emphasis on the importance of involving faculty and students in engaged research through coursework. Incorporating Engaged Research in Social Development is a comprehensive study that offers academic insight and research results in order to promote social development and change. Readers are encouraged to use this book for teaching and implementing engaged research in higher education. Guidelines for teaching undergraduate and graduate courses are included.