Africa and International Relations in the 21st Century (original) (raw)
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Recentering Africa in International Relations
Recentering Africa in International Relations, 2018
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Editorial: New Directions in International Relations and Africa
The Round Table, 2009
This special issue provides a collection of new interpretations of Africa's international relations. Africa's place in the contemporary international system presents a series of challenges to scholars and practitioners alike. Not only, for example, must we try to understand the impact of rapid changes in the world economic and political landscapes such as the rapid development of China and the growing influence of developing countries in governance projects such as the G20, we must also seek to better understand changes within Africa. A series of transformations form the modern renaissance of Africa arising from the end of apartheid in South Africa to the emergence of new or reinvigorated institutional mechanisms of governance such as the African Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), multilateral lending, and democratisation in a number of African states. Vital issues like conflict and peacemaking, aid, health, migration and liberalisation, are given new form in Africa as a result of the continent's engagements with a range of other subregional, regional and systemic level actors including states, governmental and non-governmental organisations, multinational business, and civil society groups. The period since the end of the Cold War has seen a series of important studies of Africa's international relations. Some, such as Christopher Clapham's landmark Africa in the International System and Taylor and Williams' Africa in International Politics have provided critical analyses of the multiple dimensions of Africa's political and economic linkages with the world. Others, such as Dunn and Shaw's Africa's Challenge to International Relations Theory have focused on the theoretical implications that the study of Africa's international relations poses. The latter particularly raises a debate about to what extent, if any, existing theoretical traditions within the discipline of International Relations (IR) are adequate to meet the analytical problems faced. 1 This special issue arose out of a one-day workshop New Directions in International Relations and Africa held at the Open University in July 2008. The workshop was organised by the BISA Africa and International Studies Working Group and the editors would like to thank the British International Studies Association and the Politics and International Studies Department at the Open University who provided the funding for the workshop. Details of the BISA Africa and International Studies Working Group are available at: www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences/bisa-africa. New research in the field picks up these substantive and theoretical debates. For some, received theory needs to be transcended in order to raise legitimate questions about the nature and boundaries of the study of Africa's international relations. For others, new directions mean exploring how new and emerging approaches within the discipline of IR, and within International Political Economy, can develop new insights that help us to theorise not only what the study of 'the international' tells us about Africa, but what the politics of Africa offers for theoretical conceptions of international relations. Others try to develop more state-centric discourses of international relations by exploring the role of different kinds of political actors and issues as central to the process of international relations. More substantively, research has begun to target key contemporary and longstanding issues such as education, the environment, health and HIV/AIDS; political issues of governance and the much contested 'African state', civil society and relationships with international organisations, as well as offering new conceptual approaches both
International Relations in South Africa: A Case of 'Add Africa and Stir'
This article presents a reflection on the state of the discipline of International Relations (IR) in South Africa, focusing specifically on questions about its theoretical content and 'Africanness'. The country's unique history continues to have a significant impact on the development of the discipline and the type of research conducted, with security and foreign policy remaining the core of the field. It is contended that, despite significant advancements over the past decade, the discipline remains theoretically underdeveloped. The demand of policy relevance that continues to constrain scholars is viewed as one of the main contributing factors to this state of affairs, and is discussed in some detail. While the subject matter of IR in South Africa-both in terms of research and teaching-is predominantly African, the approach-both theoretically and methodologically, remains largely western-centric. South African scholars are challenged to problematise existing understandings of IR and to interrogate the applicability of western-centric concepts and theories to Africa.
Africa in Post-Cold War World Politics
… Implications of the Multinationals in the …, 2011
This paper examines Africa in post-Cold War world politics by looking at political, strategic and economic relations in the world. The findings suggest that Africa had suffered marginalization in the past, and is suffering it in postCold War world politics. This is because dominant international actors like powerful nations (the US, Britain, France), international organizations (the UN, Commonwealth etc), International Financial Institutions (the IMF, World
Re-Thinking the Subject of Africa's International Relations
2001
The general subject of International relations has engaged enormous inquiries. 1 The classical and empiricist schools raise, in part, intriguing questions of identity concerning the study of international relations; the obtrusive inquiry of identity concerning the study of international relations; the obtrusive inquiry on functionality, and indeed, whether international relations is a discipline with a clearly identifiable subject matter. 2 Issues on methodology approaches and conceptualizations are also generating inquires. 3 The diversity of these arguments and interests, buttresses the strength as well as the eclectic character of the subject of international relations.
African Studies Review, 2000
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