Gbenga Dasylva | George Mason University (original) (raw)
Drafts by Gbenga Dasylva
This paper is a review of the literature on the emerging trends in peacebuilding. The paper's int... more This paper is a review of the literature on the emerging trends in peacebuilding. The paper's interest in the discourse of the peacebuilding as existential in its applicability in conflicts is also key to the nodes that the scholarship in peacebuilding paves way for. However, the key question under review is one of the few that the field struggles with; the idea of the standard of defining a successful peacebuilding process on the one hand what determines an effective intervention on the other hand. How has peacebuilding fared in post-conflict spaces in sub-Saharan Africa? For instance, Northern Nigeria has had its share of perennial crisis despite foreign investments in education and humanitarian aid. Sulaiman (2016) profiled the inflow and outflow of foreign funds and pegged money received from the United States between 2010 and 2015 at $3 Billion. Where there is abundant peacebuilding literature that challenges the assumption that democracy is an important piece of the peace puzzle, the idea of liberal methods of democratic engagement cannot be overemphasized. The paradox of democratic peacebuilding is established in Nigeria's constant contention with violence triggered b under-development and Zimbabweans recent celebrated ousting of Mugabe by the country's military. This act and its acceptance drive home the point on the need for a holistic understanding of what peacebuilding is and what makes it sustainable. These examples are archetypes of the scenarios that literature on peacebuilding has presented over time. The criticism of the institution of democracy without reflections on the dynamics of the space it is being introduced could translate into ethnocracy, the prescription of power-sharing to intervene in an obvious power asymmetry without attending to possible divisions along ethnic, religion, and population inequality resonates in every of the African experience with liberal peacebuilding. There are several instances of failed and in some cases, failing interventions. Hence, peacebuilding in post-conflict spaces enhances my theory that posits peacebuilding as a process that transits a passive response to conflict, but dynamic and
Papers by Gbenga Dasylva
Global Peace and Security [Working Title]
This paper brings the literature on “narrative change” and “narrative transformation” to bear on ... more This paper brings the literature on “narrative change” and “narrative transformation” to bear on post-independence Nigeria, applying an interpretative framework called Root Narrative Theory (RNT) to 1960s Nigeria; In this paper, we analyze selected memoirs of leaders who were key players in the country’s critical political junctures in the first decade of independence, when combatting poverty and economic development on a distinctive African model still seemed viable: Obafemi Awolowo, a Yoruba from the West, Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igbo from the East, and Tafawa Balewa and Ahmadu Bello, two representatives of the North. This sample of memoirs reflects the discursive post-independence Nigeria in a decisive moment, revealing how these representative visionaries reflected on and responded to the daunting challenges that the newly independent Nigerian State had to contend with after almost a century of colonial rule. The analysis reveals how the clash of visions between these four indigenous...
Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 2021
North to the developing world for development purposes. Critics have drawn attention to how devel... more North to the developing world for development purposes. Critics have drawn attention to how development economics or international development aid and the more recent approaches to peacebuilding have become conservative if not neo-colonial enterprises. The imperialist/colonies' interaction had existed before and served as harbingers of, the donor/recipient interaction. There is still great suspicion among critics that there has not been any significant departure from this historic past and "colonial" mindset, and what characterize today's economic aid transactional dynamics. Through secondary data analysis and archival studies, the paper explains the classic narratives of internationalization of development economic aid, the original design, and objectives, the praxis, benefits or outcomes for the Global North, and the implications for the developing world (Global South). The methodology engages the various critical approaches to international development and where these neo-colonial sentiments may have originated from as well as the informing rationale.
Over the past quarter century, unrest in the Niger Delta had slowly graduated into a guerrilla-st... more Over the past quarter century, unrest in the Niger Delta had slowly graduated into a guerrilla-style conflict that leaves hundreds dead each year. The battle lines are drawn over the crude oil and gas that make Nigeria the number one oil producer in Africa. Impoverished residents, many of whom live practically on the doorstep of multimillion-dollar oil installations, live in a community where the essence of communalism thrives. They commune their complaints of being excluded from partaking in the prosperity that oil brings. Militancy and criminality are the convergent streams of the popular resistance that has emerged from these complaints thereby resulting to various forms of violence. Less than a year before Nigeria holds its third national elections since the end of military rule in 1999, tensions are running high in the southern Niger Delta. A number of militant groups have continued to use legitimate grievances, such as poverty, environmental destruction and government corrupti...
Oppression and Resistance in Africa and the Diaspora, 2019
Journal of Contemporary International Relations and Diplomacy, 2020
Development economics or international development aid emerged to channel economic resources from... more Development economics or international development aid emerged to channel economic resources from the Global North to the developing world for development purposes. Critics have persistently drawn attention to how development economics or international development aid and the more recent approaches to peacebuilding have become conservative if not neo-colonial enterprises. The imperialist/colonies' interaction had existed before and served as harbingers of, the donor/recipient interaction. Some scholars have argued that the colonial policy and the territorial cum-economic expansionist mindset foregrounded by Europe's feudalist-capitalist ideology, were designed to support its industrial revolution. There is still great suspicion among critics that there has not been any significant departure from this historic past and "colonial" mindset, and what obtains or characterise today's economic aid transactional dynamics. What informs this paper, which among other things, is to confirm, or confute the veracity of this claim, or justify the rationale of the allegations. Besides, the study intends to determine the extent to which the socioeconomic dynamics have changed, if at all. Through secondary data analysis and archival studies, the paper explains the classic narratives of internationalisation of development economic aid, the original design, and objectives, the praxis, benefits or outcomes for the Global North, and the implications for the developing world (Global South). The methodology engages the various critical approaches to international development and where these neo-colonial sentiments may have originated from as well as the informing rationale. The paper draws on how the field of peacebuilding relates to the field of international development and provides escape routes for its many challenges.
Journal of Contemporary International Relations and Diplomacy, 2020
Development economics or international development aid emerged to channel economic resources from... more Development economics or international development aid emerged to channel economic resources from the Global North to the developing world for development purposes. Critics have persistently drawn attention to how development economics or international development aid and the more recent approaches to peacebuilding have become conservative if not neo-colonial enterprises. The imperialist/colonies' interaction had existed before and served as harbingers of, the donor/recipient interaction. Some scholars have argued that the colonial policy and the territorial cum-economic expansionist mindset foregrounded by Europe's feudalist-capitalist ideology, were designed to support its industrial revolution. There is still great suspicion among critics that there has not been any significant departure from this historic past and "colonial" mindset, and what obtains or characterise today's economic aid transactional dynamics. What informs this paper, which among other things, is to confirm, or confute the veracity of this claim, or justify the rationale of the allegations. Besides, the study intends to determine the extent to which the socioeconomic dynamics have changed, if at all. Through secondary data analysis and archival studies, the paper explains the classic narratives of internationalisation of development economic aid, the original design, and objectives, the praxis, benefits or outcomes for the Global North, and the implications for the developing world (Global South). The methodology engages the various critical approaches to international development and where these neo-colonial sentiments may have originated from as well as the informing rationale. The paper draws on how the field of peacebuilding relates to the field of international development and provides escape routes for its many challenges.
For the Sake of Peace, 2020
I argue in this chapter that African American culture is unique as a result of an experience-bas... more I argue in this chapter that African American culture is unique as a result of an experience-based evolution that responds to the needs of its time. It argues that this culture that cuts across protests, music, and religion to mention a few is not a hybrid form of African culture neither is it related to the ‘white’ culture. It is different and independent because colonialism (pre and post) and the experience of slaves and their descendants are different. Also, white culture and African American culture has no point of intersection as the latter’s culture was a metamorphosis that took ages to become what it is by responding to whites-imposed supremacy over it. Therefore, the culture that African Americans have produced is tied to the lived experiences of black people in their country. It is a distinct, independent culture that neither white Americans nor Africans can lay claim to. Also, it is about the symbolic implications of actions and inactions of parties in America’s race conflict, not wholly about the narratives of slaves or the narratives of slavery. Thus, it explores conflict in America as one hinged on race, posits the culture of dissent as ritual, and problematizes the concept of blackness in ways that establish the binaries between Africans and African America as a function of experience.
This paper is a review of the literature on the emerging trends in peacebuilding. The paper's int... more This paper is a review of the literature on the emerging trends in peacebuilding. The paper's interest in the discourse of the peacebuilding as existential in its applicability in conflicts is also key to the nodes that the scholarship in peacebuilding paves way for. However, the key question under review is one of the few that the field struggles with; the idea of the standard of defining a successful peacebuilding process on the one hand what determines an effective intervention on the other hand. How has peacebuilding fared in post-conflict spaces in sub-Saharan Africa? For instance, Northern Nigeria has had its share of perennial crisis despite foreign investments in education and humanitarian aid. Sulaiman (2016) profiled the inflow and outflow of foreign funds and pegged money received from the United States between 2010 and 2015 at $3 Billion. Where there is abundant peacebuilding literature that challenges the assumption that democracy is an important piece of the peace puzzle, the idea of liberal methods of democratic engagement cannot be overemphasized. The paradox of democratic peacebuilding is established in Nigeria's constant contention with violence triggered b under-development and Zimbabweans recent celebrated ousting of Mugabe by the country's military. This act and its acceptance drive home the point on the need for a holistic understanding of what peacebuilding is and what makes it sustainable. These examples are archetypes of the scenarios that literature on peacebuilding has presented over time. The criticism of the institution of democracy without reflections on the dynamics of the space it is being introduced could translate into ethnocracy, the prescription of power-sharing to intervene in an obvious power asymmetry without attending to possible divisions along ethnic, religion, and population inequality resonates in every of the African experience with liberal peacebuilding. There are several instances of failed and in some cases, failing interventions. Hence, peacebuilding in post-conflict spaces enhances my theory that posits peacebuilding as a process that transits a passive response to conflict, but dynamic and
Global Peace and Security [Working Title]
This paper brings the literature on “narrative change” and “narrative transformation” to bear on ... more This paper brings the literature on “narrative change” and “narrative transformation” to bear on post-independence Nigeria, applying an interpretative framework called Root Narrative Theory (RNT) to 1960s Nigeria; In this paper, we analyze selected memoirs of leaders who were key players in the country’s critical political junctures in the first decade of independence, when combatting poverty and economic development on a distinctive African model still seemed viable: Obafemi Awolowo, a Yoruba from the West, Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igbo from the East, and Tafawa Balewa and Ahmadu Bello, two representatives of the North. This sample of memoirs reflects the discursive post-independence Nigeria in a decisive moment, revealing how these representative visionaries reflected on and responded to the daunting challenges that the newly independent Nigerian State had to contend with after almost a century of colonial rule. The analysis reveals how the clash of visions between these four indigenous...
Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 2021
North to the developing world for development purposes. Critics have drawn attention to how devel... more North to the developing world for development purposes. Critics have drawn attention to how development economics or international development aid and the more recent approaches to peacebuilding have become conservative if not neo-colonial enterprises. The imperialist/colonies' interaction had existed before and served as harbingers of, the donor/recipient interaction. There is still great suspicion among critics that there has not been any significant departure from this historic past and "colonial" mindset, and what characterize today's economic aid transactional dynamics. Through secondary data analysis and archival studies, the paper explains the classic narratives of internationalization of development economic aid, the original design, and objectives, the praxis, benefits or outcomes for the Global North, and the implications for the developing world (Global South). The methodology engages the various critical approaches to international development and where these neo-colonial sentiments may have originated from as well as the informing rationale.
Over the past quarter century, unrest in the Niger Delta had slowly graduated into a guerrilla-st... more Over the past quarter century, unrest in the Niger Delta had slowly graduated into a guerrilla-style conflict that leaves hundreds dead each year. The battle lines are drawn over the crude oil and gas that make Nigeria the number one oil producer in Africa. Impoverished residents, many of whom live practically on the doorstep of multimillion-dollar oil installations, live in a community where the essence of communalism thrives. They commune their complaints of being excluded from partaking in the prosperity that oil brings. Militancy and criminality are the convergent streams of the popular resistance that has emerged from these complaints thereby resulting to various forms of violence. Less than a year before Nigeria holds its third national elections since the end of military rule in 1999, tensions are running high in the southern Niger Delta. A number of militant groups have continued to use legitimate grievances, such as poverty, environmental destruction and government corrupti...
Oppression and Resistance in Africa and the Diaspora, 2019
Journal of Contemporary International Relations and Diplomacy, 2020
Development economics or international development aid emerged to channel economic resources from... more Development economics or international development aid emerged to channel economic resources from the Global North to the developing world for development purposes. Critics have persistently drawn attention to how development economics or international development aid and the more recent approaches to peacebuilding have become conservative if not neo-colonial enterprises. The imperialist/colonies' interaction had existed before and served as harbingers of, the donor/recipient interaction. Some scholars have argued that the colonial policy and the territorial cum-economic expansionist mindset foregrounded by Europe's feudalist-capitalist ideology, were designed to support its industrial revolution. There is still great suspicion among critics that there has not been any significant departure from this historic past and "colonial" mindset, and what obtains or characterise today's economic aid transactional dynamics. What informs this paper, which among other things, is to confirm, or confute the veracity of this claim, or justify the rationale of the allegations. Besides, the study intends to determine the extent to which the socioeconomic dynamics have changed, if at all. Through secondary data analysis and archival studies, the paper explains the classic narratives of internationalisation of development economic aid, the original design, and objectives, the praxis, benefits or outcomes for the Global North, and the implications for the developing world (Global South). The methodology engages the various critical approaches to international development and where these neo-colonial sentiments may have originated from as well as the informing rationale. The paper draws on how the field of peacebuilding relates to the field of international development and provides escape routes for its many challenges.
Journal of Contemporary International Relations and Diplomacy, 2020
Development economics or international development aid emerged to channel economic resources from... more Development economics or international development aid emerged to channel economic resources from the Global North to the developing world for development purposes. Critics have persistently drawn attention to how development economics or international development aid and the more recent approaches to peacebuilding have become conservative if not neo-colonial enterprises. The imperialist/colonies' interaction had existed before and served as harbingers of, the donor/recipient interaction. Some scholars have argued that the colonial policy and the territorial cum-economic expansionist mindset foregrounded by Europe's feudalist-capitalist ideology, were designed to support its industrial revolution. There is still great suspicion among critics that there has not been any significant departure from this historic past and "colonial" mindset, and what obtains or characterise today's economic aid transactional dynamics. What informs this paper, which among other things, is to confirm, or confute the veracity of this claim, or justify the rationale of the allegations. Besides, the study intends to determine the extent to which the socioeconomic dynamics have changed, if at all. Through secondary data analysis and archival studies, the paper explains the classic narratives of internationalisation of development economic aid, the original design, and objectives, the praxis, benefits or outcomes for the Global North, and the implications for the developing world (Global South). The methodology engages the various critical approaches to international development and where these neo-colonial sentiments may have originated from as well as the informing rationale. The paper draws on how the field of peacebuilding relates to the field of international development and provides escape routes for its many challenges.
For the Sake of Peace, 2020
I argue in this chapter that African American culture is unique as a result of an experience-bas... more I argue in this chapter that African American culture is unique as a result of an experience-based evolution that responds to the needs of its time. It argues that this culture that cuts across protests, music, and religion to mention a few is not a hybrid form of African culture neither is it related to the ‘white’ culture. It is different and independent because colonialism (pre and post) and the experience of slaves and their descendants are different. Also, white culture and African American culture has no point of intersection as the latter’s culture was a metamorphosis that took ages to become what it is by responding to whites-imposed supremacy over it. Therefore, the culture that African Americans have produced is tied to the lived experiences of black people in their country. It is a distinct, independent culture that neither white Americans nor Africans can lay claim to. Also, it is about the symbolic implications of actions and inactions of parties in America’s race conflict, not wholly about the narratives of slaves or the narratives of slavery. Thus, it explores conflict in America as one hinged on race, posits the culture of dissent as ritual, and problematizes the concept of blackness in ways that establish the binaries between Africans and African America as a function of experience.