Nyheter RSS
News rss feed
-
Why Africa is a key diplomatic battlefront for Ukraine
While Western nations push for a united African position on the war in Ukraine, many factors need to be understood about African choices, Nordic Africa Institute (NAI) researchers say. They list food security, past sanctions, historical ties and current relations, while also identifying a possible new trend In Africa’s attitude to Ukraine.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
Researcher: ECOWAS is in bad shape and must be transformed
The political and humanitarian crises in the Sahel underline the urgent need for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to transform and live up to its norms on good governance and democracy, according to Prof. Emmanuel Kwesi Aning, Claude Ake Visiting Chair at the Nordic Africa Institute.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
COP 27: Lack of climate change action will pull 100 million people into extreme poverty
NAI Senior Researcher Assem Abu Hatab underscores how African food security will be adversely affected if no deals are brokered at COP27.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
COP27: Scaling up local initiatives is crucial for climate adaptation
On the front-line of climate change are local initiatives. NAI Senior Researcher Shilpa Ansokan highlights how it is key that negotiations at COP27 ensure they have access to resources in order to scale up.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
COP27: Climate change awareness critical to sustainable migration governance
COP27 has begun and it seems poised to be one of the most challenging yet. NAI researchers share their expectations for the conference. Here Jesper Bjarnesen explores possible outcomes for climate migration.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
Researcher: Toxicity of unmet promises could affect outcome at COP27
COP 27 will begin on 6 November, in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm El Sheikh and it comes after a summer of extreme weather events globally and geopolitical tension. For the most climate vulnerable regions including Africa “climate financing is a key sticking point” according to NAI senior researcher Shilpa Asokan but “the toxicity of unmet promises could affect the outcome.” says NAI senior researcher Assem Abu Hatab. This the first part of a series of videos, delving into how COP and unfettered climate change will affect Africa.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
Gender gains overshadowed by constitutional violation
From a gender perspective, three main lessons can be learnt from the general election. First, gender issues are on the rise, a fact shown not least by the appointment of the first-ever women running mate for one of the two main presidential candidates. Second, although the ratios of women representatives at all levels are slowly but steadily increasing, the gender quota is just window dressing, which the parties blatantly ignore or work around by nominating women candidates to top-up lists. Third, violence against women in politics poses a serious threat to women’s political inclusion and citizenship.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
Africanfuturism widens our understanding of people's hopes
More and more dystopian stories examine societal challenges on the African continent. Recently, the Nigerian-American author Nnedi Okorafor defined the concept of Africanfuturism as a sub-genre of science fiction that heavily features African history or culture. What distinguishes this genre? And what can anthropologists and other researchers learn from it?
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
Call for papers - workshop in Dakar
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
Counter-terrorism has to be transborder and address root causes
The spiral of violence in the Sahel is threatening to engulf the biosphere reserve in the cross-border territory shared by Burkina Faso, Benin and Niger. The rising violence is causing massive displacement and all three countries should respond jointly by mobilising and coordinating state armed forces to protect affected populations. But a joint military response is not enough. The three states should also collaborate to address the root causes of the insecurity: the land and pastoralism crisis; inconsistency in the distribution of forest resources; and a poorly integrated approach to managing the biosphere reserve.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
Access the NAI Library digitally
The Nordic Africa Institute Library offers remote access to a growing number of Africa-focused digital resources, including databases, journals and e-books. A new addition is the Sabinet Social Sciences and Humanities journal package.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
Intra-African trade key for long-term food security
The war in Ukraine has exposed the vulnerability of African food supply chains. African countries should increase agriculture production and stimulate intra-African trade in order to make its food supply chains more resilient in the future. They should also take advantage of the The African Continental Free Trade Area, according to NAI Senior Researchers Assem Abu Hatab and Jörgen Levin.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
Kenyan elections “a small win” for women’s political representation
Despite an increase in the number of women elected, Kenya still fails to live up to a constitutional gender principle which guarantees one-third of the seats in elective bodies for women.“Clearly it is not enough to have this quota. Perhaps an independent body should monitor its implementation”, says NAI Senior Gender Researcher Diana Højlund Madsen.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
Uganda: Shame keeps pregnant teens out of school
“My fellow pupils were disturbing me. I decided to leave school”, says 17-year old Sharron (not her real name) in Uganda’s Mbarara district.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
.jpg)
In Memoriam – Tor Sellström (1946-2022)
On 27 August 2022, a true internationalist left us after a long fight against cancer. Like few others Tor Sellström embodied Nordic solidarity with the global South. He walked the talk. We will miss him, but he remains in our midst as a role model of a life-long commitment to social justice and human rights advocacy.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
Kenya: Behind disputed election, signs of growing democratic resilience
Despite the familiar imagery of post-election chaos, the 2022 Kenyan elections may in fact point to the robustness of Kenya’s democracy, in which institutional grievance mechanisms have gained acceptability. Regardless of the outcome of the ongoing dispute, both contenders are faced with the challenge to regain the trust of an electorate that has grown tired of the country’s political class.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
Tunisia on a march to one-man rule?
Sliding back into totalitarianism or taking drastic salvage measures — the president’s proposed new constitution has split the nation.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
What makes me tick: Viola Nilah Nyakato on pregnant girls being shut out from school
We've asked NAI scholars why they chose a career as a researcher and what motivates them in their work. Viola Nilah Nyakato talks about the sharp rise in teenage pregnancy during the Covid-19 school closure in Uganda. After reopening the schools, the doors remain shut for the young pregnant girls.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
Norway makes bid to support African permanent seat on UN Security Council
Can Norway reinvigorate Africa-Europe relations, which have long been poisoned by trade and migration issues? The country will work towards creating a permanent seat for Africa on the UN Security Council, Norway’s foreign minister Anniken Huitfeldt said at the African-Nordic Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Helsinki.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se
-
Russia's invasion of Ukraine jeopardizes food security in Africa
Apart from being a humanitarian tragedy, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also emerged as an exogenous shock to global food supply chains, with severe consequences for many African countries in particular. Four months into the invasion, we can see three main threats to food security in Africa: a disruption to energy markets and shipping routes; a shortage of fertilizers; and the negative ‘third-party’ effects of sanctions imposed on and by Russia.
Read the full article at nai.uu.se