Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Devil on the Cross represents both an insightful interpretation and a scathing critique of Kenyan politics and society during the period of neo-colonialism. The present thesis aims to explore, with the help of Marxist ideology and criticism, the relevance of the issues of class struggle, elitism and social collectivism in the novel. At the same time, this study will attempt to define Devil on the Cross as a "national allegory" depicting situations that are common to almost all post-colonial societies, and in particular, how the novel's ideological and political commitment is an important feature as it reflects Ngugi’s effort to draw attention to how Kenya and Africa as a whole suffered from imperialism, neo-colonialism, and a corrupt and greedy capitalist society.

Announced in 2013 by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) is a global development project that extends across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Most Western scholars and politicians have been highly critical of the BRI, particularly in connection with sub-Saharan Africa, defining the project as neo-imperialistic and arguing that only China would benefit from it in terms of political, economic, and military expansion. This thesis uses Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria as case studies to measure the effectiveness of the BRI in the development of these three countries. On the basis of this analysis, it can be posited that not only China, but also sub-Saharan African countries, specifically continental coastal democracies with access to natural resources that engage with China as business partners within the BRI's context, derive substantial benefits from their partnerships. To different degrees, Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria, are presented with opportunities to improve their infrastructure, enjoy economic growth, and reduce inequality by engaging in the BRI. Key Words:​ ​Sub-Saharan-Africa, China, Belt Road Initiative, development, economics, neo-imperialism, natural resources, infrastructure Title:​ China and Africa: The Dragon in The Lion's Den

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This study looks at social studies teachers' perceptions of Malawi's national identity as it is promoted through Malawi's primary school social studies education. The following research questions were posed: 1) What are teachers' perceptions of national identity in Malawi? 2) What are teachers' perceptions of Malawi's primary school social studies curriculum? and 3) What are teachers' perceptions of the practice of constructing national identity through primary school social studies curriculum in Malawi? The recent revision of Malawi's social studies curriculum allows for a new analysis on the relationship between Western neocolonialism and its affect on the shaping of Malawian national identity, as exampled by Malawi's social studies program. This study will therefore contribute to existing literature regarding the role of social studies education and the construction of national identity as well as the impact the West has on the maintenance of African national identity. Using semi-structured interviews with ten practicing primary school social studies teachers and one social studies curriculum specialist in the Domasi district, Southern Region of Malawi, I found that Malawi's social studies currciulum is promoting Malawian national identity as perceived by the interviewees. However, the interviewees illuminated contextual factors that hinder the implementation of the new curriculum. / Master of Science

I argue that competing visions of development guided the interventions of the United States and France in the West African country of Ivory Coast during the late colonial and early independence periods from 1946 through the 1960s. Indeed, the postwar arrival of American modernity provided an opportunity for nationalist leaders to triangulate the relationship between metropolitan France and colonial Ivory Coast. The ensuing politics of triangulation forced French colonial officials, diplomats, and development experts to “dub” modernization in order to bolster (neo)colonial ties between France and the Ivory Coast. By dubbing I mean the effort to translate and adapt for French purposes development concepts and techniques first elaborated in the United States. I explore these issues in case histories of the port of Abidjan, Kossou dam, and San Pedro development projects. I highlight the discursive as well as institutional frameworks that shaped the development of Ivory Coast. In the early twentieth century, French colonialism’s mission civilisatrice and mise en valeur posited that the colonizers were rational and productive, while the colonized were backward and incompetent to exploit their natural resources. After the Second World War, the ascendant American modernization paradigm added a new level of valuation to colonialism’s moral economy. It proposed a dynamic and progressive teleology in which the colonized could become modernized and actually “work by themselves” to reproduce hegemonic U.S. technological, economic, and political norms. Modernization was a civilizing project as well, but in contrast French (neo)colonialism now appeared static and paternalistic. French attempts to recuperate their position in the Ivory Coast deployed the epistemic memories of decades of work in the colony but ironically involved promoting forms of regional planning pioneered by the Tennessee Valley Authority. To reach these insights, I have used an interdisciplinary historical methodology that is multiarchival and multisited. My dissertation is based on research in numerous French and American archives as well as oral histories with French and American actors who participated in the (post)colonial development drive in the Ivory Coast.

Education in conflict settings is a new field of inquiry and there is a paucity of research about this topic as regards the education of children with disabilities. This qualitative study set out to gain insight into how children with disabilities are educated in the conflict setting of Uganda and how it could be improved. This study used a critical, constructivist and grounded research style to generate data. It was critical because its aims and questions focused on addressing the injustices experienced by children with disabilities. It was constructivist as both the participants and myself co-constructed knowledge. It also had some grounded theory features such as emergence and iteration in its methods and tools. For instance, it had three distinct but interrelated stages. The first stage involved an exploratory study which used online methods to gather data from 27 participants who had lived or worked in Uganda. The second stage was an experiential study in two sites in Uganda which used observation and interview methods to collect data from 35 participants. The third and final stage synthesised significant codes and memos constructed from the exploratory and experiential stages into a theory of education. There were four main findings in this study. First, it revealed the nature and extent of the challenges faced by all children living in conflict settings: forced displacement, dehumanisation, rampant poverty and weakened leadership. Second, it discovered that disabled people experienced rejection in their communities and invisibility in the provision of services such as education. Whilst these practices prevailed in non-conflict situations, they were intensified in conflict settings and were counter to the African beliefs on what it meant to be human and live in a community. Third, education in Uganda was likened to disabled people and considered 'creeping' or 'crippled' because of demotivated teachers, disengaged parents, ailing infrastructure and decreasing quality. Fourth and last, participants had visions of educational change which involved modifying it and transforming it into an education that develops conscience in children, reinforces hope and widens opportunities. This research made the following original contributions: generating original data, conceptualising Africanised interviews, and constructing a theory of Africanising education. According to my knowledge I could claim originality to this study in that by 2012, no other study had generated original data on the interfaces between education, disability and conflict in Northern Uganda using a critical, constructivist, and grounded research style. In addition, this research style led to the emergence of Africanised interviews: interviews embedded in the customs and practices of the African people. Importantly, this study led to the construction of a theory which contained critical knowledge on how Africanisation could be thought of and brought about in the setting. Africanisation was understood as the process of using African philosophies such as 'ubuntu' and communalism to transform the 'creeping' education system, reform the colonial curriculum, renew teacher professionalism, mend communities, and re-humanise the relationships between disabled and non-disabled people. Africanisation also entailed decolonising scholarship and this involved quoting African scholars and exposing their philosophies which had been marginalised by Western scholars.

I argue that competing visions of development guided the interventions of the United States and France in the West African country of Ivory Coast during the late colonial and early independence periods from 1946 through the 1960s. Indeed, the postwar arrival of American modernity provided an opportunity for nationalist leaders to triangulate the relationship between metropolitan France and colonial Ivory Coast. The ensuing politics of triangulation forced French colonial officials, diplomats, and development experts to “dub” modernization in order to bolster (neo)colonial ties between France and the Ivory Coast. By dubbing I mean the effort to translate and adapt for French purposes development concepts and techniques first elaborated in the United States. I explore these issues in case histories of the port of Abidjan, Kossou dam, and San Pedro development projects. I highlight the discursive as well as institutional frameworks that shaped the development of Ivory Coast. In the early twentieth century, French colonialism’s mission civilisatrice and mise en valeur posited that the colonizers were rational and productive, while the colonized were backward and incompetent to exploit their natural resources. After the Second World War, the ascendant American modernization paradigm added a new level of valuation to colonialism’s moral economy. It proposed a dynamic and progressive teleology in which the colonized could become modernized and actually “work by themselves” to reproduce hegemonic U.S. technological, economic, and political norms. Modernization was a civilizing project as well, but in contrast French (neo)colonialism now appeared static and paternalistic. French attempts to recuperate their position in the Ivory Coast deployed the epistemic memories of decades of work in the colony but ironically involved promoting forms of regional planning pioneered by the Tennessee Valley Authority. To reach these insights, I have used an interdisciplinary historical methodology that is multiarchival and multisited. My dissertation is based on research in numerous French and American archives as well as oral histories with French and American actors who participated in the (post)colonial development drive in the Ivory Coast.

This study aims to bring clarity to a discussion of whether the Chinese relationship with Africa can be regarded as an act of Neo-colonialism or if it contains Neo-colonial elements. As China has increasingly engaged with the continent giving extensive amounts of foreign aid and loans as well as intensifying their trade relations, the question arises whether or not this can be connected to Neo-colonial dynamics. This study will use a newly constructed framework with the help of the Neo-colonial theory, different definitions by scholars will be used to create the framework, and the basis for this analysis. The research approach is a qualitative design and the research design is a case study with a focus on China's engagement in Africa. This study finds that there are Neo-colonial elements in the processes of engagement exercised by China on the African continent in some of the variables used in the constructed theoretical framework. Lastly, this study argues that African states must be increasingly cautious when exporting raw materials and in letting private Chinese companies invest and buy shares in important African domestic sectors.

This thesis explores how the post-colonial structures in Ghana and Angola are affecting the mentality of the youth members in the political parties of NPP Youth Wing and JMPLA. The purpose is to discover whether the Political Youth Parties are able to provide ideas that challenge the current western influence in their politics. Angola and Ghana are the selected countries because despite their grand historical and cultural differences, the results are contributing to the claim that both are sharing the same struggle, coloniality. This research has been conducted with discourse analysis in official documents and semi-structured interviews with respective political youth parties. The theory used to analyse the content is social constructivism which has enabled this study to identify the mentality of the youths with its concept of social construction of reality. With regards to the result of the data, the youths provide possible solutions for reducing western influence but neglect the fact that those ideas are directed to neo-colonial structures, therefore this thesis concludes that the mentality of the youths remain colonised as its ancestors.

Student Number: 0307561M Master of Arts School of Literature and Language Studies Faculty of Humanities / In this study I will interrogate some of the issues and contradictions raised by Alexander McCall Smith’s Botswana novels. These texts feature a black African woman protagonist in a developing society, and have achieved huge popular and commercial success, but they are written by a white European man. I will examine briefly whether the books can be considered as ‘African Literature,’ and how the author has negotiated the interface between history and literature to convince readers and critics in ‘the West’ that he is portraying ‘the real Africa.’ I will investigate the strategies used by the author to create this ‘authentic’, ‘traditional’ effect, how he writes convincingly as, about and on behalf of women, and the use he makes of the detective fiction mode. Ultimately I will consider whether these novels represent a restorative ‘writing back’ or whether they constitute a continuing appropriation of African history, culture and identity, a further re-invention of Africa by and for ‘the West’.