West African Journal: A Travel Account is a narrative of the author's trip in twelve West African countries. In the first chapter the author describes her previous travels and preparations for this trip and introduces her husband. She begins the second chapter with a discussion of the benefits and hardships of independent travel and describes the hotels, restaurants, forms of transportation, and difficulties with language. The remainder of Chapter II is a close account of the first sixteen days of travel. The narrative continues chronologically in Chapters III through VIII. Each chapter pertains to a distinct stage of the trip. In Chapter IX, the author reviews her personal accomplishments during the journey, relates her and her husband's reactions on their return to the U.S., and concludes with some evocative descriptions of West Africa.

This research looks at the production of media in Ghana, specifically, film produced in the “Glamour” style or Western-style tradition that originates in its capitol of Accra. The film industry in Ghana, known as Ghallywood, is a vibrant and prolific field in which content is produced and distributed throughout the country for local consumption. Research on production practice, rather than content, can show cross-cultural differentiation in visual media production and also offers a lens through which to explore Ghanaian culture. The following research questions frame this study: What are the production practices of Ghanaian video films? How do Ghanaians communicate the process of creating Ghanaian video films? How do the practice and discourse of the video film production work to create and reinforce messages from the producers to the audiences? This research necessarily departs from looking primarily at the content of films, instead exploring the processes behind the creation of those products. Nick Couldry recognizes practice as an emerging theme in media research and this work focuses on his theory of media practice, in which the focus shifts from a content analysis to what people are actually doing in relation to media and its production. Using visual techniques and on-camera interviews, this work supplements a documentary about Ghanaian filmmaking and the voices that characterize the industry. This research and its visual product show the processes and conflict within the industry, including several different players who are often at odds with one another: students learning film from either academic or trade institutions, professional filmmakers who are either academically trained or self-taught, as well as scholars who provide their perspective on the industry as a whole. This research shows that filmmaking in Ghana is characterized by many competing elements, including a rift in what is known as “Ghallywood.” Two separate industries actually exist: the Accra “glamourwood” industry and its highly localized “kumawood” counterpart based in Kumasi, Ghana. This research also introduces concepts of how Ghanaians see the world and reproduce it in film, with the use of long takes and wide shots. This work illustrates the value of understanding production practices of media products cross-culturally as a departure from the more traditional approach to media studies of content. The attention given to a supplementary visual product in the form of a documentary aims to raise awareness of visual methodology and the value of visual and public anthropology in research and its applications to dissemination to mass audiences beyond academia.

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The aim of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive overview of the possible forms of entry on foreign markets. Various inputs are compared according to an advantages and disadvantages. Diploma thesis is focused on trading with West Africa, particularly with Nigeria. Therefore I will bring the importance of the process of discussions and negotiations with respect to awareness of differences in cultural aspects of the negotiations and contracts. In conclusion, I refer to the establishment of a specific joint venture in Nigeria. Any input options on the international market are assessed in the context of trade in goods.

Magister Commercii - MCom / This research analyses the influence of chieftaincy in party political processes in African states. In this regard, the study employs a case study design in investigating how chieftaincy shapes leadership succession dynamics within the South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO) in Namibia and the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in Botswana

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Abstract (from thesis text) From Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, is the study of the politics of reaction and reform in a post-colonial nation-state of Burkina Faso. Since its independence from France on 5 August 1960 to 15 October 1987, Burkina Faso, the "land of the upright" people, has experience five changes in government. All of the coups that took place in this twenty-seven year period were reactionary and reforming. However, the most memorable reforms arrived after the coup of 4 August 1983 which gave rise to a youthful president in a thirty-three year old Captain Thomas Sankara. As the leaders before him, Sankara reacted against a post-colonial government that he and supporters saw as inadequate. Unlike the previous coups in the Upper Volta, this work argues that the 4 August 1983 coup brought class consciousness to the forefront. It aimed to establish its identity by changing the country's name from the colonial name of Upper Volta to Burkina Faso. The revolutionaries appeared to be g6enuine in meeting their words with action by working to create self-sufficient citizens, curb environmental depredation, combat corruption in government and provide women more opportunities. Though the Revolution in Burkina Faso (1983-1987) did not end the country's ambitions for a multi-party democracy, it did elevate the status of women, literacy, mortality and pride for the homeland.

Au Sénégal, depuis les années 2000, différentes politiques et programmes publics ont été menés sur le plan agricole par le régime d’Abdoulaye WADE (2000-2012) puis de Macky SALL (2012 à nos jours) dans le but, entre autres, de mieux ouvrir ce secteur au libéralisme dont ils se réclament. Cette volonté d’ouverture intervient dans un contexte national caractérisé par l’octroi de l’autonomie de gestion des ressources foncières aux collectivités locales depuis les réformes de 1996 et dans un contexte international marqué par une incitation des institutions financières internationales, la Banque mondiale notamment, à cette libéralisation dans un but affiché de modernisation du secteur agricole et d’accroissement de la production. En s’appuyant sur l’installation de deux entreprises agro-industrielles, Senhuile et West Africa Farms, dans la commune de Ngnith (région de Saint Louis), cette recherche analyse l’exercice de la gestion foncière décentralisée au sein de cette commune. Elle retrace les différentes étapes d’acquisition des terres par ces entreprises et le rôle des parties prenantes (Etat, entreprises agro-industrielles, communauté rurale puis commune de Ngnith, populations). Elle examine également les systèmes de production de ces entreprises ainsi que les impacts et risques multiformes de leur implantation. Les résultats obtenus, principalement par le biais d’entretiens semi-directifs et d’enquêtes sur les différents sites de localisation de ces entreprises, démontrent que la pratique actuelle de la décentralisation dans cette commune ne suffit pas à elle seule pour expliquer l’installation de ces entreprises. L’étude de ces processus révèle essentiellement la forte implication de l’Etat, malgré le transfert de cette compétence, le rôle déterminant d’une partie des populations dans ces processus ainsi que la complexité des stratégies d’acquisition foncière de ces entreprises à Ngnith. / In Senegal since the 2000s, different agricultural policies and public programs have been enacted by the regimes of Abdoulaye Wade (2000-2012) and Macky Sall (2010 to the present) with the goal of, among others, opening up the sector to more liberal policies that they have supported. This desire to liberalize comes during a national context characterized by reforms enacted in 1996 giving an increased autonomy to the local collectivities in their management of land resources. The international context was similarly marked by the international financial institutions, notably the World Bank, advocating similar liberal policies, pushing for the modernization of the sector and an increase in productivity. By examining the installation of two agro-industrial companies (Senhuile and West Africa Farms) in the commune of Ngnith in the Saint Louis region, this study attempts to reveal to what degree this commune exercises its decentralized land management responsibilities in this new context of liberalization. The case studies retrace the different steps in the acquisition of land by these companies and the roles of the different actors involved in this process (the State, agro-industrial companies, rural communities, the commune of Ngnith, local populations, etc.). The study also analyses the different modes of production of these companies as well as the impacts and multiple risks resulting from their establishment. The results obtained, principally through interviews and semi-structured surveys conducted near the different locations of these companies, have generally shown that the current practice of decentralization in this commune cannot alone explain the establishment of these companies. Rather, the analysis reveals a three-fold process: the strong involvement of the State despite transferring the authority to the commune, the decisive role of a part of the local population, and the complexity of land acquisition strategies used by the companies.

This thesis examines the roles and significance of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West Africa States) in conflict prevention, crisis response and security-building processes in West Africa, particularly since 2000. The importance of developing regional institutions and capacities for peace and security-building in Sub-Saharan Africa has been widely recognised since at least the mid-1990s. Not only has the African Union developed important peace and security building aims and roles, but so too have several of the sub-regional organisations in Africa, including ECOWAS in West Africa. In the late 1990s, ECOWAS Member States achieved a number of noteworthy sub-regional agreements on ECOWAS norms and mechanisms for conflict prevention, crisis response, and peace and security –building in West Africa. These agreements and mechanisms have subsequently been further developed since 2000, in a dynamic process that was informed by experience with efforts to respond to a range of crises and conflicts in the region. This thesis critically examines this process, focussing particularly on the extent to which, and how, ECOWAS norms, institutions and mechanism have continued not only to develop but also to be influential in practice. Our research demonstrates that the ECOWAS agreements and norms established by 2000 have continued subsequently to be dynamically developed and used by ECOWAS member states and West African networks, in close interaction with several international partners. It argues that these norms and mechanisms have played significant roles in influencing actual policies, practices and missions. They have therefore proved to be more than shallow symbolic or paper agreements, despite the political fragility and divisions of the region and most of its states. We argue that this cannot be adequately understood using single explanatory frameworks, such as Nigeria’s hegemonic influence or instrumental influence of external Actors such as UN, EU or USA, as has often been suggested. Adequate explanations need to combine these factors with others, including relatively consistent investment in regional norms and institutions by coalitions of some West African states (including Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria) together with civil society and parliamentary networks. Our research then examines in detail the extent to which, and how, ECOWAS norms and mechanisms on conflict prevention, crisis response and security sector reform were significant and influential in ECOWAS’ responses to the crises and conflicts in Cote D’Ivoire, Mali and to a lesser extent in Gambia since 2003; and also how these crises were in turn influential in the further development of ECOWAS norms in these areas. We demonstrate numerous weaknesses in the implementation and effectiveness in these norms; and limitations in their diffusion and influence. However, we argue that such weaknesses and limitations are typical of regional peace and security norms everywhere, including much more stable and developed regions. Equally significant is that substantial coalitions exist between ECOWAS member states and stakeholders. Despite obvious tensions, ECOWAS, AU, UN and other countries such as France continue to work to address inherent tensions and develop mutually beneficial collaborations that enhance effective conflict prevention in the sub-region. The study draws on the knowledge created within this this thesis to propose a framework for conflict intervention. / Allan & Nesta Foundation