M.A. / The HIV and AIDS pandemic has swept through sub-Saharan Africa at an alarming pace, gaining momentum each year as millions of people are infected and affected by the virus. A range of social, political and economic consequences have already begun to emerge as a result of this disease, and a comprehensive response is essential to halt the spread of HIV and AIDS, and to manage the impact of the pandemic. This study examines the response of the two dominant regional organisations in sub- Saharan Africa, namely the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), through an analysis of their policies on HIV and AIDS. The comparison of the HIV and AIDS policies of these regional organisations is conducted by means of three sets of identified indicators, covering education and awareness campaigns, prevention strategies, and treatment and care programmes. Further, the extent to which the regional guidelines contained in the policies are incorporated into the HIV and AIDS policies of member states is discussed with reference to Nigeria and South Africa, identified as the strongest states within their respective groupings with the highest prevalence rates. Given the acknowledged impact of the disease, the regional response is not as comprehensive as would be expected. The SADC policy is generally more elaborative on the key issues than the ECOWAS policy. Vital issues such as the provision of condoms and addressing the disproportionate impact of HIV and AIDS on women are not dealt with, and the overall policies lack detail and practical guidance. In comparison, the policies of member states such as Nigeria and South Africa are far more elaborative, containing creative solutions to daunting problems, although some of the weaknesses identified in the regional HIV and AIDS policies shine through in the national policies of member states. The study concludes that while practical restrictions such as lack of infrastructure, resources, and diverse cultural and religious beliefs hamper the formulation of a single, comprehensive regional policy on HIV and AIDS, the current guidelines provided by both ECOWAS and SADC fall short of the necessary response to a crisis of the magnitude of the HIV and AIDS pandemic. / Prof. Yolanda Sadie

Chaque partie de l'espace, matérialisée par les frontières terrestres, maritimes ou aériennes est convoitée par les nations qui parviennent à en faire des chasses gardées à l’exception d’une seule composante : le cyberespace. Ce lieu d’échanges et de circulation de l’information s'est affranchi de cet accaparement. C’est ce qui le rend réel pour les utilisations qu’il permet (envois de messages, diffusion des informations en temps réel, formations…) et virtuel (dans la mesure où les réseaux numériques empruntent des voies difficilement localisables) au point de générer des difficultés quant à son encadrement par la loi. Dès lors, le cyberespace s’érige en un espace où il est aisé de cultiver des activités illégales compte tenu des facilités qu’il offre. Les activités illégales épousent des formes pluridimensionnelles et complexes qu’on regroupe sous l’appellation générique de cybercriminalité. De par sa nature et ses subdivisions, la cybercriminalité fait l’objet de réflexions, d’études, de recherches, de mises en place de politiques et d’actions à une échelle nationale et internationale en vue de parvenir à son éradication. Les actions sont menées de manière coordonnée entre les Etats et les institutions. La lutte contre ce phénomène interplanétaire exige la mutualisation des efforts de la part des acteurs des télécommunications, de l’informatique, de toutes les couches professionnelles ainsi que de la part des consommateurs sous réserve qu’ils soient bien informés des risques liés à l’usage du cyberespace. L’étude comparée des systèmes de répression mis en oeuvre dans les espaces européen et ouest-africain permettra de mieux comprendre l’exercice du droit souverain pénal face à la cybercriminalité et l’importance des collaborations entre ces deux espaces communautaires. / Each party of the space, realized by the ground, maritime or air borders is desired by the nations which succeed in making it private grounds with the exception of a single component: the cyberspace. This place of exchanges and circulation of information freed itself from this cornering. It is what makes it real for the uses which it allows (sendings of messages, broadcasting) of real-time information, trainings and virtual (as far as the digital networks follow with difficulty localizable paths) in the point to generate difficulties as for its frame by the law. From then on, the cyberspace sets up itself as a space where it is easy to cultivate illegal activities considering the opportunities which it offers. The illegal activities marry forms pluridimensionnelles and complex which we group under the generic naming of cybercrime. Due to its nature and its subdivisions, the cybercrime is the object of reflections, studies, searches, implementations of politics and of actions in a national and international scale to reach in his eradication. The actions are led in way coordinated between States and institutions. The fight against this interplanetary phenomenon requires the mutualization of the efforts on behalf of the actors of telecommunications, computing, all the professional layers as well as her on behalf of the consumers under reserve that they are informed well about the risks connected for the cyberspace. The study compared by the systems of repression implemented in the European and West-African spaces will allow to understand better the exercise of the penal sovereign right in front of the cybercrime and the importance of collaborations between these two community spaces.

The post-colonial period in many African countries was, and still is, marked by political breakdown, authoritarianism and war. African state institutions saw fragmentation, breakdown and in some cases, failure. For many Africanist scholars "state weakness" is a main cause for political violence. State weakness results from pre-colonial and colonial legacies which created authoritarian structures, supported the rise of autocratic political leaders and entrenched dysfunctional state practices. Dysfunctional state practices manifest themselves during civil wars when governments and national armies exploit and rape their civilian population, failing to provide security from rebel violence. This paper argues that dysfunctional state practices during civil war are enabled by a history of gender discourses and beliefs. In the wars of the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the Sierra Leonean war, when army soldiers abused and raped civilians, they were enabled by gendered hierarchies, norms and beliefs, which they employed to legitimize and normalize their actions.

The Economic Community of West African StatQs (ECOWAS) was established by treaty in 1975 to promote the economic and political well-being of its 16 regional members. As a coordinated effort of geographically associated states ECOWAS joins an expanding group of regional integration schemes created by developing countries. As an international organization with some claim to supranational authority the success of the ECOWAS scheme is of practical and theoretical importance. Success in this sense implies an increasing level of interaction among the ECOWAS members and the development of a regional economic and political position toward non-member states. This coordination of member states' national policy within a regionally constituted political body offers an interesting laboratory for the examination of regional integration efforts. This paper seeks to establish the degree of integration achieved by the ECOWAS members to date and to chart the progress of that integration over time.

No description available.

This thesis examines the determinants of institutional quality and the process of convergence in the ECOWAS in order to inform policy about the region’s deep integration scheme. The first part of the thesis examines the historical changes that took place in the development of common institutions in West Africa in the pre-independence era. The findings demonstrated that the region exhibited some common institutions, including common currencies, standardised trade rules and protection of trade routes which facilitated regional and international trade. A single administration system helped in the effective implementation of the common institutions. Therefore, historical changes after independence led to the loss of some facets of these common institutions in West Africa. The second part examined determinants of institutional quality and the process of convergence using econometric analysis. The findings demonstrated that the process of convergence could be accelerated if WAMZ and WAEMU work together as one monetary zone under ECOWAS. Moreover, the findings also demonstrated that the level of development, state capacity, FDI, regional trade, history and regional trade partners institutional quality contain useful information in explaining the quality of institutions today. Therefore, ECOWAS’s deep integration goal would require improving some of these factors in order to facilitate the process of developing common institutions and improve their quality. In the long term, a single administration system akin to the colonial era and the Empires of Western Sudan would be desirable. This will require political commitment to do so. ECOWAS members should have the confidence that deep integration is feasible given that it existed in the region in the past.

Student Number: 0108593A - MA research report - School of Social and Sciences - Faculty of Humanities / South Africa’s diplomatic involvement in the continent and particularly in Cote d’Ivoire is the main focus of this paper. Therefore, the rationale of this dissertation is to investigate the reasons of the African Union (AU) to choose South Africa as a peace broker rather than the Cote d’Ivoire crisis as such. South Africa’s diplomatic engagement in Cote d’Ivoire in 2004 was as a result of numerous attempts by AU, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and France to find a peaceful solution to what was once the most economic and political stable country in West Africa. The crust of this paper is to ascertain reasons why the AU designated South Africa the responsibility to mediate a peace process in Cote d’Ivoire. Furthermore, What difference can South Africa really make in Cote d’Ivoire search for peace, given the failure of other third parties as well as South Africa’s ability to export its model of power-sharing in the continent. Against this backdrop, it is also vital to examine reasons why South Africa accepted to broker a peace deal in Cote d’Ivoire in November 2004 rather that two years ago when the conflict was on its early stages. In fact, this is not the first time South Africa was requested to help solve conflicts in West Africa. Interestingly, at first, South Africa refused to offer mediation in West Africa in 2003 citing reasons that it was overburdened in other peacekeeping missions in Africa. Thus, this paper will attempt to find reasons why this time around South Africa accepted the job to mediate a peace process in Cote d’Ivoire in the backyard of Nigeria.

No description available.

African states are often called corrupt indicating that the political system in Africa differs from the one prevalent in the economically advanced democracies. This however does not give us any insight into what makes corruption the ruling norm of African statehood. Thus we must turn to the overly neglected theoretical work on the political economy of Africa in order to determine how the poverty of governance in Africa is firmly anchored both in Africa’s domestic socioeconomic reality, as well as in the region’s role in the international economic order. Instead of focusing on increased monitoring, enforcement and formal democratic procedures, this book integrates economic analysis with political theory in order to arrive at a better understanding of the political-economic roots of corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa. / Häufig werden die afrikanischen Staaten als durch und durch ‚korrumpiert‘ bezeichnet, also unterstellt, dass sich die politischen Systeme Sub-Sahara Afrikas in ihrer Funktionsweise von denen fortgeschrittener Demokratien unterscheiden, ohne dass deutlich wird, was Korruption zur Norm afrikanischer Staatlichkeit macht. Aus diesem Grund greift diese Studie auf bereits vorliegende, aber häufig vernachlässigte theoretische Arbeiten zur politischen Ökonomie Sub-Sahara Afrikas zurück. Es wird gezeigt, wie ‚bad governance‘ in den sozioökonomischen Gegebenheiten afrikanischer Staaten verankert ist und welche Bedeutung die Rolle der afrikanischen Staaten innerhalb der Weltwirtschaftsordnung spielt. Anstatt immerzu die verschärfte Aufsicht und die Durchsetzung rechtsstaatlicher Prinzipien zu fordern, integriert diese Studie ökonomische Analyse mit politischer Theorie, um die politökonomischen Wurzeln der Korruption in Sub-Sahara Afrika besser verstehen zu können.

La sécurité civile des Etats de la Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l’Afrique Centrale, dont la mission première est de protéger les personnes, les biens et l’environnement fait face à la diversité des risques et des crises contemporains. La vulnérabilité et l’insouciance quasi généralisées dans cette partie de l’Afrique, aggravées par des contraintes chroniques dues à la pauvreté et la faiblesse des cadres institutionnels les exposent aux conséquences meurtrières et désastreuses des catastrophes.La situation est préoccupante ; mais la matière peine à rentrer dans les priorités des politiques publiques, tant en interne dans le cadre de chaque Etat de la C.E.M.A.C, que sur le plan sous régional.Les actions initiées çà et là au plan institutionnel, juridique et humain demeurent timides. Une des raisons majeures est que la sécurité civile dans cette partie du continent est relativement jeune et partagée entre une multitude d’acteurs confrontés en permanence aux événements dramatiques et à la complexité des crises.Elle a, plus que d’autres disciplines, besoin d’être précisée et consolidée. La question majeure qui structure le travail entrepris est par conséquent celle de savoir comment faire face aux situations complexes, éviter et prévenir les crises dans un environnement où les vulnérabilités sont décuplées par la pauvreté ? Autrement dit, que faire en cas de catastrophe dans un contexte où la capacité d’anticiper et de gérer les risques est particulièrement limitée ?A partir de la démarche juridique, mais aussi interdisciplinaire, l’on a montré la limite du modèle classique sur lequel repose principalement les systèmes de sécurité civile des Etats de la C.E.M.A.C, au détriment d’autres modèles pertinents de gestion crises (prise en compte des vulnérabilités et de la résilience) qui n’apparaissent dans le droit de la sécurité civile de ces Etats que sous forme de linéament.La réalité est claire et brutale : les risques et les catastrophes sont omniprésents en zone C.E.M.A.C, telle une ombre projetée sur le présent et le futur. Ce catastrophisme étale l’absence de développement de a sous-région et la faible diffusion des technologies et des savoirs. Face à cette situation inédite, outre la prévention des risques, l’on a préconisé de briser les sentiments d’impuissance, d’apprendre à affronter la catastrophe, à cesser de l’imaginer dans un futur improbable ; mais à la penser au présent, à expérimenter les capacités de résister et de résilience. Il devient dès lors essentiel de renouveler l’organisation générale de la sécurité civile des Etats de la C.E.M.A.C. A cet égard, l’émergence et /ou le renforcement d’un modèle communautaire de protection des personnes consoliderait le dispositif sous régional de sécurité civile. La recherche d’une gouvernance éclairée et participative peuvent aussi être des vecteurs minimaux, mais puissants de relance d’une garantie de la sécurité humaine et des droits fondamentaux. / Civil security in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States, whose main objective is the protection of persons, goods and the environment, is faced with different contemporary risks and crisis. The quite widespread vulnerability and disregard in this part Africa, heightened by unabating constraints caused by poverty and weak institutional frameworks exposes them to deadly and disastrous disaster consequences.The situation is alarming; yet it is hardly a priority on government policies, both in the internal policies of each CEMAC member state and at the sub regional level.The various actions initiated here and there at the institutional, legal and human levels are still timid. One of the major reasons is that civil security in this part of the continent is relatively young and divided amongst a multitude of actors confronted permanently with dramatic events and the complexity of the crisis.Moreover, it needs more than other fields, to be specified and consolidated. The major problem which is developed in the thesis is then, how to face the challenging issues, avoid and prevent crisis in an environment where the vulnerabilities are enhanced by poverty? In other words, what happens during a disaster in a context where the ability to preempt and to manage risks is particularly limited?From the legal approach, as well as interdisciplinary, we have revealed the limits of the classical model which civil security systems of CEMAC states basically depend on, to the detriment of other relevant models of risk management(taking into account vulnerability and resilience) which feature on the law of civil security of these states just as an alignment.The reality is clear and brutal: risks and disasters are omnipresent in the CEMAC zone; this is the shadow overbearing the present and the future. This gloom reveals the absence of development of the sub region and the poor dissemination of technology and knowledge. Faced with this unprecedented situation, besides risk prevention, we call on breaking this feeling of helplessness, master disaster management, cease from imagining it far-fetchedly; but to think of it in the present, evaluate the resistance and resilience capacities. It is therefore necessary to renew the general organization of civil security in CEMAC states. In this vein, the emergence and/or the enhancement of a community model of protection of persons shall reinforce the sub regional civil security mechanism. The search for informed and participative governance can also be minimum vectors, but powerful catalyst to guarantee human security and fundamental rights.