Human security is an essential aspect of human rights, as it is necessary for every human to feel secured in their community, and country at large. However, human security is frequently threatened by conflict, especially in Africa. Adding to the different challenges that most African states face, conflict contributes immensely towards destabilizing human security. As such, this thesis addresses the destabilized human security situation in Nigeria, by examining the implication of the Boko Haram insurgency. The effects of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, ranges from political, economic, social, cultural, to environmental. These insecurities have led to the destabilisation of the country and its economy. Although human security is broad, this thesis focuses on the political and socio-economic implications of the Boko Haram insurgency. This includes, but not limited to, poverty and illiteracy, unemployment, poor healthcare service, displacement, national insecurity, and political instability. The thesis argues that the Nigerian government has been unable to defeat the insurgent group due to the increasing rate of corruption in the country, which in turn leads to lack of adequate human and material resources need to win the group. In conducting this research, a literature-based methodology was employed, where secondary data, in the form of books, newspapers, online articles/journals, and reports, that have been written on the topic, were critically analysed to draw up adequate information on the activities of Boko Haram and it implications on the human security of the country.

This paper is in response to the stereotypes perpetuated around Africa. Much like other postcolonial spaces, Africa has fallen prey to Western assumptions and stereotypes. While the continent is diverse and has multiple narratives and voices, the notion of barbaric backward Africa has lived on. The shift to independence from Belgian Congo to Zaire marked the reclamation of not only an African identity but the African voice. While his rule was characterised by patronage politics and corruption, Mobutu effectively developed a counterhegemonic discourse on the Congo through the twin processes of authenticité and Zairianization. Mobutu created an authentically African state with a common national identity while still attracting foreign investment and financial aid. It is through Edward Said's Orientalism that the "othering" and subsequent exploitation of Africa can best be understood. Orientalism has been used to explain the systematic oppression and exploitation of the Orient and has called for discourses on this from within the region. Although Mobutu has been touted as a puppet of the West, he applied the core tenets of post-colonial theory and Orientalism in his reimagining of the "the Congo". This thesis looks at the postcolonial discourse surrounding Africa and Mobutu's role in redefining the Heart of Darkness. The significance of this study is in translating Orientalism's applications to the East and the perceptions and assumptions held by the West to Africa and particularly "the Congo". Mobutu subverted the traditional colonial narrative by inventing a new Zairian identity that asserted control over the dominant colonial discourse. In a sense, what Mobutu did was to control the narrative and ensure that it was experienced by the West as an authentic African vision while transacting with the West for his own personal benefit and ensuring that he remained in power.

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On 19 September 2002, dissatisfied soldiers in Côte d'Ivoire attempted to overthrow Laurent Gbagbo's regime. In response, France rapidly mobilised its military forces, once again intervening in one of its former colonies. This intervention is all the more surprising given the recent and important reforms in France's Africa policy; reforms which led to the increased disengagement of the French military in Africa. In light of this conundrum, this thesis seeks to understand why France pursued intervention in Côte d'Ivoire in 2002. Moreover, given these wide ranging reforms, I seek to understand the extent to which France's intervention in 2002, indeed, represents something new, or is simply another manifestation of France's traditional way of doing this in Africa. In answering these research questions, this thesis combines both quantitative analysis and an in-depth case study of French intervention in Côte d'Ivoire. In applying the results from the analysis to the case study, I find that the French intervention in Côte d'Ivoire is largely consistent with, and indeed indicative of, France's historical modus operandi in sub-Saharan Africa. In sum, I show how France has a plethora of important interests in the Côte d'Ivoire, interests which are shaped by its strong historical relationship with Côte d'Ivoire and which strongly influenced French intervention in 2002. Moreover, circumstances surrounding the 2002 failed coup attempt, notably the deteriorating situation in Côte d'Ivoire, the empowerment of Jacques Chirac and even the mistrust between Chirac and Gbagbo created the conditions which further fostered military interventions. These factors, it is shown, are largely consistent with the general trends of French intervention in sub- Saharan Africa, thus indicating that, despite important French reforms leading up to the 2002 intervention, very little has changed regarding French motives for intervention in sub-Saharan Africa. As such, the results from this thesis indicate that when one of France's important former African colonies is perceived to be under threat, France is bound by historical responsibility and a plethora of deep-seeded interests to deploy its military and attempt to remedy the situation.

Legislatures in the Southern Africa have made recent signals that they are becoming active in the budget process through the establishment of Budget Committees, Parliamentary Budget Offices, and Constituency Development Funds. These developments are surprising given the Westminster heritage of these institutions and periods of executive dominance that precluded such involvement from independence. If these legislatures are, indeed, modifying their involvement in budgetary matters, this could pointto a fundamental shiftin their overall function and identity. This study thus asks: Are changes really unfolding? And, if so, why? The research employs data collected on the basis of extensive fieldwork in five parliaments in Southern Africa with similar historical attributes. This includes semi-structured interviews with over 160 MPs and staff, focus group discussions, and archival analysis in the Parliaments of Namibia, Lesotho, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The results of the study find support for the initial hypothesis: public signals are, indeed, indicative of more extensive changes in legislative budgetary engagement, though to varying degrees within each. Formal legal authority was found to be a poor predictor of legislative change, as were emerging technical abilities. A final congruence test found that a combination of external donor influence and regional peer-to peer legislative exchange are best able to account for the developments underway. The results of this exploratory study serve as an orientation for parliaments presently undergoing institutional change in budgetary matters as well as a basis for further research.

This master's thesis analyses the roles that private security companies (PSCs) assume during United Nations (UN) peace missions. Following a literary review and contextual development of the PSC industry, this thesis makes use of a qualitative desktop study to examine five UN peace mission case studies in Africa in which PSCs were contracted to provide multiple roles for the UN. The case studies include UNAVEM, UNAMSIL, UNMIL, UNAMID, and MONUSCO. Each case study features a historical overview of the country's conflict, the UN mandate-related developments prior to and during the UN peace mission, the roles performed by PSCs in the peace operation, as well as a critical analysis of such PSC involvement. A subsequent discussion on the UNs use of PSCs finds that contracting provides the organisation with cost savings, more efficient operational capabilities, and the evasion of domestic sensitivities with regards to member state involvement in peace missions. The use of contractors, however, does also highlight the UNs vetting deficiencies in terms of the use of illegitimate companies, procurement issues - especially favouritism and corruption, and grave accountability problems associated with criminal prosecution mechanisms and the use of force by PSCs in the field. The thesis concludes that the reliance on contractors impacts the UNs peace mission endeavours in terms of increased militarization, a neo-colonial facet, and a gradual move towards privatized peacekeeping.

Populism is on the rise in many developed and developing countries and uprooting established party systems. In South Africa, research has shown that the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) can be seen as our turn towards populism, but what fuels the rise of the party? This dissertation argues that an anti-establishment stance entices citizens to vote for the EFF and economic inequalities and a cultural backlash makes our society fertile ground for a populist party. In this theoretical case study, international populism theory from especially Inglehart and Norris is applied to the local context to show why the aforementioned factors can explain the rise of populism.

This empirical research explores experiences of inheritance in Muslim families, drawing upon case law, archival research and in-depth interviews with 6 Muslim widows in Cape Town. I examine women's experience of and attitudes towards inheritance in middle class Muslim families around Cape Town. This research aims to document Muslim widow's experiences of inheritance, furthermore, explore their attitudes towards these practices among their wider family. In particular, I investigate the experience of inheritance for Muslim widows, and interpret how these experiences relate to the governing principles of equality and diversity in the South African Constitution. This research has found that fairness and reciprocity serve as guiding principles of inheritance practices in middle class Muslim families around Cape Town. This is evidenced by two prominent practices of inheritance identified in the data, namely gendered conditionalities of inheritance shares, secondly the practice of gifting while alive. These findings indicate that to a large extent, on the micro level, the experiences of inheritance practices for Muslim women are in fact aligned with the principles of equality and diversity in the Constitution. However, these patterns of inheritance do occur in a context of gendered family practices. It is therefore argued that the challenge arises from the informality of inheritance practices among middle class Muslim families in Cape Town, characteristically occurring in the private sphere. In instances where fairness and reciprocity are not given primacy as guiding principles of inheritance practices, women tend to experience downward social mobility. Weak legal protection for Muslim widows during instances of discriminatory inheritances practices is resultant of the lack of a transformative mandate in the public sphere. Embedded within social forces, Muslim women's agency is conceptualised as proactively and strategically shaping their lives and the lives of female family members. Bringing the findings into conversation with transformative justice, there has been a stratification of rights and the realisation thereof, therefore resulting weak legal protection for Muslim widows in instances of discriminatory inheritance practices. It is further noted that existing international discourse regarding family law reform on a state level is relatable in this instance as gender-sensitive reforms do not in fact erode the foundations of religion and family, but merely challenge the tenuous balance of power. This research contributes to the developing body of literature on Muslim family practices in South Africa and acts as a lens in which to understand links between wider family history, and established social and institutional systems; therefore, leading to an evaluation of the role of transformative justice in this instance.

Includes bibliographical references. / One-party Mozambican assemblies were weak institutions limited to ratifying executive decisions. However their multiparty successors are increasingly becoming institutions that matter in politics assigned with responsibilities of law-making, oversight, representation and constituency service. Nevertheless, theoretical and comparative work on the development of the Mozambican legislature has been limited. This study contributes to comparative legislative studies by assessing and comparing the process of legislative development and performance in Mozambique’s first three multiparty assemblies – Fourth (1995-1999), Fifth (2000-2004) and Sixth (2005-2009). It examines the extent to which the Mozambican legislature developed and performed its main responsibilities using institutional level data from legislative standing orders, legal provisions and archives, and the African Legislatures Project over a 15-year period from 1995 to 2009.

The study is an analysis of how two rural communities in Zimbabwe adapted and responded to the decline in health and basic education services between 2000 and 2007. From 2000, Zimbabwe faced socioeconomic and political challenges that have been characterised as the "Zimbabwean crisis". The state became unable or unwilling to provide adequate education and health services to the majority of its citizens. The study sought to determine the nature and extent of the emerging coping strategies to a decline in the state service delivery. Hirschman‟s analysis of exit, voice and loyalty influenced the theoretical framework guiding the study. The reformulated framework incorporates three types of exit, three types of voice, three types of direct action, two types of loyalty, and other alternative options such as apathy and spiritualism. The methodological framework entailed a case study approach of two rural communities in Zimbabwe. The study purposely selected Maotsa and Shumba communities because of their individuality and diversity in terms of geography, socioeconomic conditions and the range of health and education services provided. Data gathering involved conducting semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions in the two communities between July 2007 and June 2008. The study employed the membership categorization device to analyse data from the interviews. The responses were also post coded and analysed with Statistical Package for Social Scientists version 16. The statistical analysis complemented the qualitative analysis. The study established that communities and individuals responded to the decline of public services through a multiple of strategies. The prominent responses included exit, voice, direct action and a sense of hopelessness and apathy all occurring in multiple variants. In the face of declining public services, the communities responded by going beyond the exercise of voice in the original Hirschman formation of complaining and protesting to collectively cooperating or individually acting to provide the public goods in place of those previously provided by the state. Unlike traditional voice in which consumers seek corrective action by others, Shumba and Maotsa community restored the public services through voluntary local contributions of labour, money and materials. Arising from previous failures at cooperative effort, the Shumba community was less successful at collective action. Due to increased poverty incidence, the alternative of producing public goods locally was not enduring and the communities invariably sought to leverage external donor support. Shumba community was more successful in attracting external support for community projects.