scholarly journals Presidential Term Limits and the International Community

2019 ◽  
pp. 557-584
Author(s):  
Christina Murray ◽  
Eric Alston ◽  
Micha Wiebusch
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Term Limits ◽  
West African ◽  
Central Question ◽  
The West ◽  
International Consensus ◽  
History Of ◽  
Venice Commission ◽  
External Actors

Proposed changes to presidential term limits are almost always highly contested and have attracted international and regional attention. A central question that faces the external actors is the extent to which it is legitimate to take a position in presidential term limit debates. This chapter considers the policy concerning presidential term limits of three major IGOs, the UN, the AU, and the OAS. It further discusses the way in which IDEA, an IGO with a softer mandate, has responded to the debate on term limits, as well as the role of the Venice Commission, ECOWAS, DRI, the Carter Center, and the West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF). This review suggests an increasing international consensus that, in countries with a history of authoritarianism and weak democratic institutions, presidential term limits can play an important role in strengthening democratic processes and reducing the likelihood of conflict.

scholarly journals Senegal, the African Slave Trade, and the Door of No Return: Giving Witness to Gorée Island

Humanities ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Dalla Malé Fofana
Keyword(s):  
Slave Trade ◽  
West African ◽  
The West ◽  
African Slave ◽  
West African Coast ◽  
African Coast ◽  
Visual Rhetorics ◽  
Early Schooling ◽  
History Of

Recently, the Senegalese people have learned to speak more openly of their history. But, as late as the 1980s—the years of my youth and early schooling—the wounds of colonialism were still fresh. I contend that slavery had been so powerful a blow to the Senegalese ethos that we—my family, friends, and schoolmates—did not speak about it. The collective trauma and shame of slavery was apparently so powerful that we sought to repress it, keeping it hidden from ourselves. We were surrounded by its evidence, but chose not to see it. Such was my childhood experience. As an adult, I understand that repression never heals wounds. The trauma remains as a haunting presence. But one can discover its “living presence,” should one choose to look. Just 5.2 km off the west African coast of Senegal lies Gorée Island, where millions of Africans were held captive while awaiting transport into slavery. Much of the four-century history of the African slave trade passed through Senegal, where I grew up. In this essay, I explore the history of the island and its role in the slave trade. I describe my own coming to terms with this history—how it has haunted me since my youth. And I argue for the role of visual rhetorics in the formation (and affirmation) of Senegalese ethos. As Baumlin and Meyer (2018) remind us, we need to speak, in order to be heard, in order to be seen: Such is an assumption of rhetorical ethos. And the reverse, as I shall argue, may be true, too: Sometimes we need to see (or be seen), in order to know what to speak and how to be heard. It is for this reason that we need more films written, directed, produced, and performed by Africans (Senegalese especially).

REINTERPRETING THE ROLE OF MUSLIMS IN THE WEST AFRICAN MIDDLE AGES

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-340
Author(s):  
Mauro Nobili
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
West African ◽  
The West ◽  
History Of ◽  
Muslims In The West ◽  
The Web ◽  
The Middle Ages ◽  
Discursive Approach

AbstractRecent research points to a renewed scholarly interest in the West African Middle Ages and the Sahelian imperial tradition. However, in these works only tangential attention is paid to the role of Muslims, and especially to clerical communities. This essay tackles theoretical and historiographical insights on the role of African Muslims in the era of the medieval empires and argues that the study of Islam in this region during the Middle Ages still suffers from undertheorizing. On the contrary, by using a ‘discursive approach’ scholars can unravel access to fascinating aspects of the history of West African Muslims and in particular to the crucial role played by clerical communities, who represented one node of the web of diffused authority which is characteristic of precolonial West African social and political structures.

Magistri Legis. Eine Studie zur dogmatischen Funktion im industriellen System

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-112
Author(s):  
Pierre Legendre
Keyword(s):  
Social Function ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
Human Behaviour ◽  
Cultural Reproduction ◽  
Industrial System ◽  
The West ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Law ◽  
New Look

"Der Beitrag reevaluiert die «dogmatische Funktion», eine soziale Funktion, die mit biologischer und kultureller Reproduktion und folglich der Reproduktion des industriellen Systems zusammenhängt. Indem sie sich auf der Grenze zwischen Anthropologie und Rechtsgeschichte des Westens situiert, nimmt die Studie die psychoanalytische Frage nach der Rolle des Rechts im Verhalten des modernen Menschen erneut in den Blick. </br></br>This article reappraises the dogmatic function, a social function related to biological and cultural reproduction and consequently to the reproduction of the industrial system itself. On the borderline of anthropology and of the history of law – applied to the West – this study takes a new look at the question raised by psychoanalysis concerning the role of law in modern human behaviour. "

scholarly journals Promoting research to improve maternal, neonatal, infant and adolescent health in West Africa: the role of the West African Health Organisation

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Issiaka Sombie ◽  
Aissa Bouwayé ◽  
Yves Mongbo ◽  
Namoudou Keita ◽  
Virgil Lokossou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Adolescent Health ◽  
West African ◽  
The West ◽  
African Health

The Garvey Movement in British West Africa

1980 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. Okonkwo
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
West African ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
The West ◽  
Universal Negro Improvement Association ◽  
History Of ◽  
American Blacks ◽  
Garvey Movement ◽  
African Nationalism

The paper seeks to present new information concerning the activities of the West African branches of Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. The author has included biographical profiles of the British West African Garveyites to integrate the Garvey movement into the history of West African nationalism and Pan-Africanism.It is argued that Garveyism was welcomed in British West Africa by the older cultural nationalists who saw Garveyism as an extension of Blyden's ideas. Pan-African sentiments of racial unity and solidarity of African and American blacks, pride in the history of the race, and self-help projects had wide circulation in West Africa from the latter part of the nineteenth century, as a result of Blyden's influence. Joining the branches of the U.N.I.A. was a practical demonstration of a long-standing commitment to cultural and racial nationalism among the West African elite.The Garvey movement also marked the beginning of a new era in West African nationalism. Garvey's radical pronouncements on freeing Africa from colonial rule were unacceptable to the older cultural nationalists who dominated the Garvey groups. They disavowed any interest in organizing a central nation for the race. However, Garvey's ideas may have had long-term effects. By the 1930s the idea of independence from colonial rule seemed more attractive to the West African nationalists. Garvey was one of the first to speak out boldly for freedom from colonialism.The concrete achievements of the West African branches of the U.N.I.A. were small indeed. Nigeria had the most Garveyite activity in British West Africa. There was an agent for the Black Star Line in Lagos and a branch of the U.N.I.A. and A.C.L. The Gold Coast had the least Garveyite activity, probably because of their involvement in the National Congress of British West Africa and also because of their more critical attitude towards co-operation with American blacks. They believed that Africans were best qualified to lead any joint efforts for intra-racial co-operation.

scholarly journals Intra-interglacial climate variability: model simulations of Marine Isotope Stages 1, 5, 11, 13, and 15

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 677-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rima Rachmayani ◽  
Matthias Prange ◽  
Michael Schulz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
High Latitude ◽  
West African ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
The West ◽  
Temperature Anomalies ◽  
Astronomical Forcing

Abstract. Using the Community Climate System Model version 3 (CCSM3) including a dynamic global vegetation model, a set of 13 time slice experiments was carried out to study global climate variability between and within the Quaternary interglacials of Marine Isotope Stages (MISs) 1, 5, 11, 13, and 15. The selection of interglacial time slices was based on different aspects of inter- and intra-interglacial variability and associated astronomical forcing. The different effects of obliquity, precession, and greenhouse gas (GHG) forcing on global surface temperature and precipitation fields are illuminated. In most regions seasonal surface temperature anomalies can largely be explained by local insolation anomalies induced by the astronomical forcing. Climate feedbacks, however, may modify the surface temperature response in specific regions, most pronounced in the monsoon domains and the polar oceans. GHG forcing may also play an important role for seasonal temperature anomalies, especially at high latitudes and early Brunhes interglacials (MIS 13 and 15) when GHG concentrations were much lower than during the later interglacials. High- versus low-obliquity climates are generally characterized by strong warming over the Northern Hemisphere extratropics and slight cooling in the tropics during boreal summer. During boreal winter, a moderate cooling over large portions of the Northern Hemisphere continents and a strong warming at high southern latitudes is found. Beside the well-known role of precession, a significant role of obliquity in forcing the West African monsoon is identified. Other regional monsoon systems are less sensitive or not sensitive at all to obliquity variations during interglacials. Moreover, based on two specific time slices (394 and 615 ka), it is explicitly shown that the West African and Indian monsoon systems do not always vary in concert, challenging the concept of a global monsoon system on astronomical timescales. High obliquity can also explain relatively warm Northern Hemisphere high-latitude summer temperatures despite maximum precession around 495 ka (MIS 13). It is hypothesized that this obliquity-induced high-latitude warming may have prevented a glacial inception at that time.

scholarly journals THE CONCEPT OF CIVIL SOCIETY, ITS FORMATION IN UKRAINE, FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (50) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khrystyna Romanivna Martsikhiv ◽  
Liliia Yevgenivna Horbachova
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Voluntary Associations ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
Social Institution ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Public Expression ◽  
History Of

The concept of «civil society» in modern political science is given. The relevance of its theoretical and practical aspects which is caused by the obvious increase the role of ordinary citizens and their voluntary associations in all spheres of human society: economic, political, social, spiritual, is analyzed. The successes of public organizations and movements of people of good will in the field of detente of international tensions, in providing assistance to peoples affected by natural disasters, catastrophes and other social unrest are widely known. It was established that the basis of victories is the development of civil society, high activity of citizens and their voluntary associations. This is achievable only in a sufficiently developed civil society. It has been proved that success comes where the business activity of citizens and the non-governmental structures they create increases, state intervention in economic, social and spiritual life is limited, where civil society develops and improves. The theoretical and applied aspects of the phenomenon of civil society are comprehended through a theoretical analysis of the concept of civil society in the history of socio-philosophical and political thought, from Plato and Aristotle to the views of modern researchers. It is emphasized that civil society is a type of social system, the hallmark of which is the real multi-subjectivity of economic, social, cultural and political life. The formation and development of civil society in Ukraine during the years of independence is analyzed. It is proved that the formation of civil society is manifested in the formation of its institutions - voluntary public associations, public movements, trade unions, independent media, public opinion as a social institution, elections and referendums as a means of public expression and protection of public-dependent interests. judicial and law enforcement systems, etc. The peculiarities of the interaction of civil society and the rights` state are substantiated.

scholarly journals Ebola haemorrhagic fever in africa: a necessary highlight

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Samuel Adu-Gyamfi
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
International Community ◽  
West African ◽  
Haemorrhagic Fever ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Border Health ◽  
The West ◽  
Global Threat ◽  
Scientific Facts

<p><span lang="EN-GB">The purpose of this commentary is to re-evaluate the historic and scientific facts on Ebola haemorrhagic fever and the role of the international community, especially Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in stemming the tide. It rehashes the argument on causes and prevention and draws attention of readers to emphasize the need for establishment of airport, sea port and border health posts with well drilled and efficient health professionals to be able to test, detect and quarantine persons with Ebola and treat them to prevent the spread of the disease from infected persons to primary or first contacts and secondary contacts. Significantly, countries in the West African sub-region are alarmed by the potential spread of the disease to countries that have hitherto been free of the disease. The potential global threat of the disease has been analysed and measures to be taken by countries within the West-African sub-region have been emphasized. This notwithstanding, does the declaration of countries as Ebola-free suggest the last of it?</span></p>

English in West Africa

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike Gut
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Structural Properties ◽  
West African ◽  
The Other ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The West ◽  
Current Role ◽  
British Colonization

This chapter describes the history, role, and structural properties of English in the West African countries the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, the anglophone part of Cameroon, and the island of Saint Helena. It provides an overview of the historical phases of trading contact, British colonization and missionary activities and describes the current role of English in these multilingual countries. Further, it outlines the commonalities and differences in the vocabulary, phonology, morphology, and syntax of the varieties of English spoken in anglophone West Africa. It shows that Liberian Settler English and Saint Helenian English have distinct phonological and morphosyntactic features compared to the other West African Englishes. While some phonological areal features shared by several West African Englishes can be identified, an areal profile does not seem to exist on the level of morphosyntax.

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